U  ,2.^  .  o  U^  , 


^  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  ^ijj 


Presented    by  T C  \  T& .  V^  .  (7.r^^\^  C_J  .  S  (TX  X^'^n  ^ 

BV  3705  .E7  T72  1845 
Tracy,  Ebenezer  Carter,  179 

-1862. 
Memoir  of  the  life  of 

Jeremiah  Evarts 


'/Yl4y^  ^ayln.^^<^(-^^^^-'^^^'^'''^'9^ 


tt 


,iyU./^J^ 


^     f.'VU.-dPijZyi^ 


a. 


)  \ {^-)a^^^yt^■tAAAJJ 


^./^e^/^i. 


^x// ,  /^^^ 


Pauitt'd  by  V^cTi-  ^ 


X,ug;ra.vea  cy  O  reiu 


MEMOIE 


THE    LIFE 


,K^ 


JEREMIAH  EVAETS,   ESQ. 


LATE     CORRESPONDING     SECRETARY     OF     THE     AMERICAN     BOARD     OF 
COMMISSIONERS     FOR     FOREIGN     MISSIONS. 


BY    E.    C.    TRACY. 


BOSTON: 

PUBLISHED    BY    CROCKER    AND    BREWSTER, 

47,  Washington-street. 
1845. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1845, 

BY     CROCKER    AND    BREWSTER. 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  Massachusetts. 


PREFACE. 


Herder,  speaking  of  a  National  Biography,  remarks  that  the 
names  of  those  only  should  have  a  place  in  it,  who  have  actually 
contributed  something  to  the  well-being  of  mankind  ;  and  that,  in 
regard  to  such,  it  should  be  the  biographer's  chief  aim  to  show 
how  they  thus  contributed  ;  how  they  became  what  they  were  ; 
what  obstacles  they  had  to  encounter ;  how  far  they  went,  and 
what  they  left  to  be  done  by  others ;  and  finally  how  they  them- 
selves regarded  what  they  had  done — the  work  of  their  lives. 
A  true  narrative  embracing  these  points,  he  adds,  and  derived,  as 
far  as  practicable,  from  the  lips  or  the  writings  of  the  subject  of  it, 
or  of  those  who  most  intimately  knew  him,  would  be  like  a  voice 
from  the  grave — like  a  Last  Will  and  Testament  of  the  deceased,  in 
regard  to  what  was  most  peculiarly  his  own  and  his  noblest  legacy. 

The  first,  at  least,  of  these  demands,  is  fully  met  in  the  follow- 
ing pages.  Mr.  Evarts  is  to  be  numbered,  beyond  all  question, 
among  those  who  have  contributed  to  the  well-being  of  their  race. 
For  the  rest,  the  writer  can  only  say  that  he  has  studiously  en- 
deavored to  make  such  use  of  the  materials  within  his  reach,  as 
not  altogether  to  fail  in  the  particulars  mentioned  by  Herder.  It 
will  be  found  accordingly,  that  the  life  of  Mr.  Evarts,  and  especially 
the  great  employments  of  his  life  and  liis  views  relating  to  them, 
are  laid  before  the  reader  chiefly  in  his  own  language.  The  se- 
lections from  his  writings,  published  and  unpublished,  have  been 
carefully  made  with  constant  reference  to  this  object.  His  pub- 
lished writings  have  been  used  the  more  freely,  not  only  as  the 
best  biographical  materials,  but  because  they  are  not  of  such  a  na- 
ture as  to  demand  separate  republication,  and  it  is  only  in  this 
volume  that  any  adequate  record  of  his  views  on  the  important 
subjects  that  most  occupied  him,  will  be  generally  accessible. 

The  papers  left  by  Mr.  Evarts  are  voluminous,  as  he  was  fond 
of  writing,  and  much  in  the  habit  of  preserving  every  written  thing. 
But  in  one  respect,  they  might  by  some  be  deemed  deficient ;  and 
this  volume  may  in  consequence  disappoint  expectations.     The 


4  PREFACE. 

manuscripts  contain  little  that  relates  directly  to  his  own  expe- 
rience and  progress  in  the  Christian  life.  From  a  very  early  pe- 
riod, passages  of  this  kind  become  brief  and  incidental ;  and  even 
papers  relating  to  his  Christian  experience  while  in  college,  to 
which  the  writer  has  been  particularly  referred,  are  not  now  to  be 
found.  How  far  the  following  facts  may  account  for  this,  it  is  im- 
possible to  determine.  When  leaving  home  on  one  of  his  earliest 
journeys  to  the  south,  he  directed  that,  in  case  of  his  decease,  cer- 
tain packages  of  papers  should  be  destroyed.  After  his  return  he 
was  told  by  the  person  employed  in  his  office,  to  whom  the  charge 
was  given,  that  it  would  not  have  been  complied  with.  When 
next  called  away  on  a  distant  journey,  he  looked  over  his  papers 
and  committed  many  to  the  flames  himself  It  is  not  supposed, 
however,  that  after  becoming  engaged  in  the  great  business  of  his 
life  he  ever  wrote  much  on  the  subject  referred  to ;  and  to  give 
that  topic  any  more  prominence  than  it  here  holds,  would  not  be 
in  keeping  with  his  character  and  habits.  His  inner  life  as  a 
Christian  was  habitually  and  naturally  expressed  in  his  daily  busi- 
ness; and  transacting  that  heartily  as  unto  the  Lord,  and  with 
constant  prayer,  it  became  to  him  a  chief  means  of  spiritual  disci- 
pline. Hence  even  his  official  writings  are  often  in  the  highest 
sense  autobiographical,  and  yet  without  the  least  obtrusion  of  the 
private  individual  into  the  place  of  the  functionary. 

In  the  preparation  of  this  volume  the  writer  has  been  under 
great  obligations  to  gentlemen  connected  with  the  American  Board 
of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  and  to  other  friends  and 
correspondents  of  Mr.  Evarts  who  have  furnished  valuable  sug- 
gestions and  materials,  and  has  been  very  much  aided  by  the 
Memoir  in  the  Missionary  Herald,  written  (by  one  of  his  associates 
soon  after  his  death.  To  this  last  mentioned  source,  it  will  be 
seen,  he  has  been  indebted  almost  exclusively,  as  was  proper,  for 
the  concluding  pages  of  the  Memoir,  instead  of  trusting  to  his  own 
less  intimate  personal  knowledge. 

Such  as  it  is,  and  with  unfeigned  diffidence  respecting  his  own 
agency  in  it,  the  writer  submits  the  volume  to  the  friends  of  mis- 
sions and  to  the  public,  in  the  hope  that  so  much  of  the  mind  and 
spirit  of  Mr.  Evarts  will  be  found  in  its  pages  as  to  render  them 
of  sterling  value,  and  of  iise  to  the  cause  in  which  he  dehghted 
above  all  things  to  labor  while  he  lived,  and  to  take  leave  of 
which  was  one  of  the  severest  trials  connected  with  approaching 
death.  E.    C.    T. 

Windsor,  Vt.,  Mmj,  1845. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER     I  . 

Birth  and  Childhood  of  Mr.  Evarts,  9,  10.  Studies  at  East  Guilford,  10.  Enters 
Yale  College,  11.  Character  in  College,  12.  Religious  Habits,  17.  Conver- 
sion, 19 — 25.     Early  Habits  as  a  Christian,  25,  26.     Characteristic  Traits,  27 


CHAPTER     II. 

Prospects  and  Plans  after  leaving  College,  29.  At  Peacham,  Mr.  Worcester's 
Remarks  on  his  Character  and  Habits,  30.  Religious  Diary,  32—36.  Faith- 
fulness as  an  Instructor,  37.  Choice  of  a  Profession,  37 — 43.  Marriage,  44. 
Student  at  Law,  44.  At  the  Bar,  45—47.  Political  Views,  47,  4S.  Religious 
Activity,  Letter  from  Professor  Stuart,  4S — 50.  Extracts  from  Corres- 
pondence, 51 — 54 


CHAPTER     III. 

Invited  to  take  charge  of  the  Panoplist  as  Editor,  55.  Providential  training  for 
his  future  position,  56 — 59.  Origin  of  the  Panoplist,  State  of  the  Churches, 
Unilarianism,  59 — 62.  Character,  leading  objects,  and  labors,  as  an  editor, 
62 — 94.  Elevation  of  Christian  Character,  63.  Religious  Education,  65. 
Unitarian  Controversy,  69.  Intemperance,  75.  "War,  76.  Slavery,  79.  Edu- 
cation Societies,  90,  93.  Prison  Discipline  Society,  90.  Character  as  a  Re- 
former, 91.     Foreign  Missions,  92 


CHAPTERIV. 

Origin  of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  96. 
Mr.  Evarts  elected  Treasurer,  9S.  Correspondence  and  otherlWritings  in  the 
service  of  the  Board,  99.  Letter  to  Dr.  Worcester  on  the  Ordination  of  Mis- 
sionaries at  Newburyport,  107.     Visit  to  Canada,  and  Letter  on  E3brts"to  pro- 


CONTENTS. 

mote  the  belter  observance  of  the  Lord's  Day,  109.  Failure  of  Health  and 
Voyage  to  Savannah,  110.  Agricultural  Riches  of  Georgia,  110.  Congrega- 
tions of  blacks  at  Savannah,  Portrait  of  the  Countess  of  Huntington,  112. 
Slavery,  113.  Auction  Sale  of  Slaves,  114.  Prospects  at  Charleston  in  regard 
to  funds  for  Missions,  116.  Charleston  to  Columbia,  117.  Meeting  of  Synod 
at  Augusta,  lis.  Objects  and  Prospects  of  his  journey.  Arrival  at  Brainerd, 
Visit  to  Rev.  J.  Gambold,  119.  Catharine  Brown,  121.  Leaves  Brainerd  with 
Mr.  Cornelius  and  others,  123.  Journal  in  Tennessee,  125.  Route  home,  126. 
State  of  Indian  affairs  and  assurances  from  Government,  127.  Dr.  Worcester's 
Visit  to  "Washington,  129.  Mr.  Calhoun's  Treaty  with  the  Cherokees,  130. 
President  Monroe's  visit  to  Brainerd,  131.  Enlargement  of  Indian  Missions, 
Discouragements  respecting  Funds,  132.  Failure  of  Dr.  Worcester's  health, 
and  his  death  at  Brainerd,  133,  145.  Letter  to  Rev.  W.  Goodell,  on  his  Agen- 
cy, 134.  To  Messrs.  Parsons  and  Fisk,  missionaries  in  Western  Asia,  1-38.  To 
Rev.  C.  Kingsbury,  embarrassments,  139.  To  Rev.  Ard  Hoyt,  employments 
and  health,  140.  To  Messrs.  Parsons  and  Fisk,  motives  to  fidelity,  141.  To 
Dr.  Worcester,  want  of  funds,  141.  To  Dr.  Chapin,  qualifications  of  missiona- 
ries, 142.  To  the  Sandwich  Islands,  148.  Notices  of  the  Death  and  Charac- 
ter of  Dr.  Worcester,  149.     Extract  from  the  Annual  Report,  153 


CHAPTER     V. 

Mr.  Evarts  both  Secretary  and  Treasurer,  159.  Circulation  of  the  Missionary 
Herald.  160.  Failure  of  Health  and  second  Voyage  to  Savannah,  161.  Death- 
bed of  a  young  Physician,  162.  Letter  to  Hon.  W.  Reed,  sense  of  official 
duly,  165.  To  Rev.  R.  Anderson,  names  of  stations,  165.  Notes  on  the  con- 
dition of  the  Blacks,  166.  Salubrity  of  Athens,  Sufferings  of  the  first  Settlers 
from  the  Indians,  IGS.  Dr.  Waddel's  views  of  Slavery,  170.  Sabbath  in  Jack- 
son County,  170.  Employments  at  Brainerd,  171.  Remarks  on  his  visit,  174. 
Proposal  in  regard  to  a  Treasurer,  179.  Journal  in  Tennessee  and  Virginia,  ISO. 
Annual  Meeting  of  1S22,  Mr.  Evarts  Corresponding  Secretary,  ISl.  Letter  to 
Rev  C.  King.sbury,  on  the  death  of  Mrs.  K.,  ISl.  Journal  of  employments, 
Health,  1S3.  To  Ceylon,  first  grant  from  the  American  Bible  Society,  Duties 
of  Missionaries,  Letters  home,  1S4.  To  Adam  Hodgson,  Esq.,  on  his  Letters, 
166.  Visit  to  Vermont,  and  third  visit  to  the  Indian  Missions,  with  David 
Brown,  United  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  1S7.  Relations  of  the  United 
States  Government  to  the  Cherokees,  interview  with  Rev.  J.  J.  Robertson,  ISS. 
Letter  to  an  Assistant,  on  the  duties  of  his  office,  1S9.  Troubles  in  regard  to 
the  Indians,  190.  Cautions  respecting  accounts  of  Revivals  of  Religion,  191. 
The  Monthly  Concert,  note  on  Western  Virginia,  192.  Notes  on  Tennessee, 
193.  Visit  to  Brainerd,  197.  Employments  at  home,  200.  Letter  to  Eev.  C. 
Washburn,  missionary  economy,  201.  To  Mr.  Hall,  who  had  been  alarmed  by 
exposure  to  violence,  203.  To  Cherokee  Converts,  204.  To.  Mrs.  Mosely,  on 
the  death  of  her  husband,  205 


CHAPTER     VI. 

Failure  of  Health  and  fourth  visit  to  the  South,  Article  on  the  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society,  207.  Death  of  his  youngest  Daughter,  212,  21S,  221.  Letter  to 
an  agent,  to  obtain  funds  the  hardest  part  of  the  missionary  work,  212.  To 
Ceylon,  on  a  revival  of  religion  there,  214.    To  T.  L.  McKenney,  Esq.,  on  the 


CONTENTS. 

removal  of  the  Indians,  215.  Journal  in  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  218. 
American  Tract  Society,  New  York  and  Boston,  219.  Aid  given  by  the  Tract 
Society  to  Foreign  Missions,  Death  of  Rev.  P.  Fisk,  221.  Marriage  of  E. 
Boudinot,  222.  Labors  at  Meetings  of  Auxiliaries,  223.  Return  of  Consump- 
tive symptoms  and  fifth  visit  to  Indian  Missions,  224.  Remarks  on  Complaints 
against  the  Board,  election  of  members.  Colored  men  as  missionaries  to  Afri- 
ca, 225.  Ability  of  the  Country  and  want  of  Religious  Charity,  226.  Birth- 
day Reflections,  227.  Methodist  Meeting,  22S.  Instance  of  Liberality,  229. 
Charleston  to  Augusta,  229.  Instruction  of  Slaves,  231.  TravelUug  on  the 
Sabbath,  232.  Special  Concert  of  Prayer,  233.  The  Creek  Treaty,  234. 
Sabbath  on  the  way,  234.  Employments  in  the  Indian  Country,  236.  The 
Mississippi  River,  237.  Frances  Wright,  23S.  The  Ohio,  240.  Travelling  on 
the  Sabbath,  242.  Union  of  Missionary  Societies  effected,  244.  Letter  to 
Rev.  C.  Kingsbury,  encouragement  to  missionary  labors,  244.  To  Rev.  D.  S. 
Butrick,  advice,  245.  To  John  Nitchie,  Esq.,  union  of  Societies,  246.  To 
Messrs.  Bird  and  Goodell,  death  of  Mr.  Fisk,  247.  To  Rev.  William  Potter, 
247.  To  Mr.  Moses  Jewell,  personal  acquaintance  with  missionaries,  assist- 
ants, 248.  To  a  Gentleman  on  the  General  Plan  of  Indian  Missions,  249. 
To  an  Agent  of  the  Board,  252.  To  a  friend  in  Virginia,  slavery,  252.  To 
Sandwich  Islands  Chiefs,  253.  Death  of  Rev.  G.  Hall,  256.  Annual  Meeting 
at  New  Haven,  Extracts  from  Report,  256.  Labors  in  New  York,  261. 
Arrangements  with  the  American  Tract  Society,  262.  Expostulatory  Letter 
to  Missionaries, 


264 


CHAPTER     VII. 

Visit  to  Washington  in  1S27,  and  labors  in  connexion  with  Rev.  C.  S.  Stewart, 
267,  269,  272.  Indian  affairs,  26S,  269.  Interview  with  the  President,  269. 
Creek  Treaty,  270.  Visit  to  Virginia,  272.  Letter  to  Rev.  C.  Kingsbury,  re- 
moval of  the  Indians,  274.  To  Rev.  R.  Anderson,  interview  with  Rev.  Dr. 
Green,  Presbyterian  missions,  275.  Address  to  the  Students  at  Princeton,  276. 
Outrages  at  the  Sandwich  Islands,  Lieut.  Percival,  273.  Increased  interest  in 
Missions,  279.  Letter  to  Josiah  Bissell,  Contributions  of  the  rich,  279.  An- 
nual Meeting,  Extract  from  Report,  2&1.  Origin  of  the  Extra  Effort,  285. 
Letters  to  E.  Lord,  Esq.,  on  Extra  Effort,  286,  7,  8.  Paper  in  the  Missionary 
Herald,  on  same  subject,  290  Article  on  Sandwich  Islands,  in  North  Ameri- 
can Review,  291.  Rehgious  Movements  in  Boston,  Spirit  of  the  Pilgrims,  292. 
Paper  on  qualifications  of  Missionaries,  293.  Letter  to  Rev.  C.  Kingsbury, 
apprehensions  respecting  the  Indians,  299.  To  Rev.  R.  Anderson,  Extra 
Effort,  301,  2.  Visit  to  Washington,  March  1S28,  303.  Mr.  Randolph's 
Speech,  304.  George  Guess  and  the  Cherokee  Alphabet,  305.  Prospects  of 
the  Indians,  306.  Letter  to  Rev.  C.  Washburn,  missionary  economy,  307. 
Case  of  Lieut.  Percival,  309.  Need  of  Agents  for  the  Board  among  the 
Churches,  313.  Letter  to  S.  G.,  combinations  among  the  Students,  314. 
Annual  Meeting,  Extract  from  Report,  315.  Sabbath  Mails,  Sabbath  Union, 
Mr.  Bissell,  3^^ 


CHAPTER     VIII. 

Visit  to  Washington  in  1S29,  with  reference  to  the  Indians  and  the  Sabbath 
Mails— Col.  Johnson's  Sabbath  Mail  Report,  320.  London  Post-office,  322. 
Interview  with  Gen.  Jackson,  324.    Measures  to  secure  the  discontinuance  of 


CONTENTS. 

Sabbath  Mails,  number  and  character  of  petitions,  325.  Letter  to  D.  Greene, 
Sabbath  Mails,  Indian  aflairs,  327.  Views  of  the  advocates  of  the  removal 
of  the  Indians,  329.  Meeting  of  the  Sabbath  Union,  Mr.  Maxwell's  Speech 
on  Temperance,  331.  Meeting  of  the  General  Asi'embly,  332.  Letter  to  L 
S.  Williams,  revival  of  religion  among  the  Choctaws,  3-33.  To  J.  H.,  letter  of 
consolation,  334.  Pressure  of  employments  and  failure  of  health,  335.  Essays 
of  *  William  Penn,"  336.  Influence  of  the  Essays,  347.  Other  labors  on  be- 
half of  the  Indians,  349.  Visit,  in  April  1S30,  to  Washington,  353.  Aspect  of 
the  Indian  question,  3-54.  Advice  to  friends  in  the  Cherokee  nation,  356. 
Debate  in  the  Senate  on  the  Indian  Bill,  3.57.  Interview  with  Col.  M'K,  360. 
A  new  Treaty  with  the  Choctaws,  361,  364.  New  Haven  Theology,  362. 
Letter  to  Rev  C.  Kingsbury,  Indian  affairs,  362.  Sabbath  Mails,  363.  Influ- 
ence of  "  William  Penn."  Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  New  York  Indian  Board,  Gen. 
Cass,  365.  Influence  of  Memorials,  Vote  of  the  Senate  on  the  Indian  Bill,  366. 
Visit  to  Virginia,  367.  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  368.  Speeches  of  Messrs.  Fre- 
linghuysen and  Livingston  on  Sabbath  Mails,  369,  371.  Debate  on  the  Indian 
Bill  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  370—379.  Consultations  with  Mr.  Wirt 
and  the  Cherokees,  379,  381.  The  Maysville  Road  veto,  3S0,  3SL  Labors  for 
the  Indians  after  his  return  home,  383 


CHAPTER     IX. 

Twentieth  Annual  Report  of  the  Board,  Extracts,  38-5 — 388.  Further  efforts  on 
behalf  of  the  Indians,  Letter  to  Rev.  F.  Wayland,  398.  To  E.  Lord,  Esq., 
Annual  Meeting,  Suggestions  in  regard  to  the  Indians,  400.  To  Rev.  George 
Potts,  Christian  duty  of  efforts  in  favor  of  the  Indians,  401.  To  E.  Lord,  Esq., 
Indian  affairs,  402.  Visit  to  New  Bedford,  403.  Last  Instructions  to  Mission- 
aries, extracts,  405.  Failure  of  Health,  Letter  to  Hon.  I.  C.  Bates,  409. 
Voyage  to  Havana,  410.  Spiritual  state  of  mind,  410.  Conversion  of  his 
eldest  son,  413.  Last  days  and  triumphant  death,  414—417.  Remarks  on  his 
character,  418 


APPENDIX. 

Labors  of  Mr.  Evarts  in  relation  to  the  Indian  Question,  431.  Draft  of  a  Protest 
against  the  Principles  and  Policy  of  the  Indian  Bill  of  May,  1830,433.  Address 
to  the  People  of  the  United  States,  by  the  General  Council  of  the  Cherokee 
Nation,  July  1830,  442 


CHAPTER  I. 


BIRTH   AND    EDUCATION,  1781—1802. 


Jeremiah  Evarts,  eldest  son  of  James  and  Sarah  Evarts,  was 
born  in  Sunderland,  Vermont,  on  the  third  day  of  February,  1781.  ^ 
His  father,  a  native  of  Guilford,  Connecticut,  where  the  Evarts 
family  had  resided  from  about  the  year  1650,  was  a  respectable 
farmer,  and  a  man  of  uncommon  public  spirit ;  his  mother  was 
the  eldest  daughter  of  Timothy  Todd,  Esq.,  also  of  Guilford. 
Her  family,  originally  from  Yorkshire,  England,  were  distinguished 
for  their  love  of  books  ;  and  her  uncle,  Rev.  Jonathan  Todd,  for 
many  years  Pastor  of  the  Congregational  church  in  East  Guilford, 
is  spoken  of  as  one  of  the  first  scholars  of  his  time.  She  was  an 
intelligent,  pious,  and  benevolent  woman  ;  and  although  removed 
from  opportunities  to  indulge  to  much  extent  the  literary  tastes 
characteristic  of  her  family,  yet  cherished  enough  of  their  spirit  to 
sympathize  with  and  encourage  those  tastes  in  her  son.  To  her 
instructions  and  influence  also,  and  to  those  of  his  excellent  grand- 
mother—  who  was  a  woman  of  strong  mind  and  devoted  piety  — 
must  chiefly  be  attributed  the  religious  impressions  that  attended 
him  through  childhood  and  youth.  James  Evarts  was  among  the 
earliest  inhabitants  of  Sunderland,  and  afterwards  of  Georgia,  of 
which  township  he  was  an  original  proprietor,  and  to  which  he 
removed  in  1787.  The  subject  of  this  memoir,  then  six  years  of 
age,  was  already  distinguished  for  industry,  faithfulness,  and  love 
of  books.  Reading  was  his  favorite  amusement  when  less  than 
2 


10  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

three  years  of  age,  and  among  his  characteristic  employments  at 
that  early  period  was  the  teaching  of  a  little  playmate,  of  his  own 
age,  the  alphabet.  On  returning  from  school  one  day  in  his  fifth 
year,  he  begged  for  a  new  book.  What !  is  your  book  worn 
out  ?  asked  his  father.  *'  Oh  no,  sir  ;  but  I  have  read  all  the 
sense  out  of  it,"  was  the  quick  reply.  No  words  could  better 
express  his  manner  of  reading  through  life.  His  time  was  chiefly 
devoted  to  the  usual  employments  of  a  pioneer  farmer's  son,  where 
hardy  and  enterprizing  men  were  opening  their  fields  in  the  midst 
of  primeval  forests,  near  the  shores  of  Lake  Champlain,  till  he 
left  the  paternal  roof  to  enter  upon  classical  studies  in  Connecticut. 
Although  his  frame  was  too  slender  and  his  constitution  too  deli- 
cate for  hard  and  continuous  labor,  it  was  less  his  unfitness  for 
agricultural  employments  than  the  intellectual  promise  observed 
by  his  family  and  friends  that  induced  his  father  to  give  him  the 
best  advantages  in  his  power  for  obtaining  a  thorough  education 
and  entering  one  of  the  learned  professions.  In  his  circumstances, 
in  a  new  settlement  and  with  few  books,  the  facilities  for  acquiring 
knowledge,  except  those  afforded  immediately  by  parental  watch- 
fulness and  care,  were  of  course  very  limited.  But  of  these,  such 
as  they  were,  he  made  the  most  diligent  use.  When  not  other- 
wise employed,  he  always  had  a  book  in  his  hand.  "  I  believe," 
remarked  a  sister,  "  that  every  page  of  the  Spectator  was  as 
familiar  to  him  as  his  spelling-book,  when  quite  a  child."  In 
January,  1798,  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  he  left  home  for  East 
Guilford,  Connecticut,  and  was  there  placed  under  the  tuition  of 
Rev.  John  Elliot,  D.  D.,  the  worthy  successor  of  Rev.  Jonathan 
Todd,  mentioned  above,  who,  as  was  common  for  clergymen  in 
those  times,  usually  had  a  few  pupils  under  his  care.  He  had 
before  only  acquired  a  knowledge  of  the  English  studies  then 
taught  in  common  schools,  and  devoted  two  or  three  months  at 
Burlington  to  the  Latin.  He  now  resumed  the  study  under 
the  strongest  impulses  of  gratified  desire,  and  of  youthful  ardor 
and  hope.  While  under  the  tuition  of  Dr.  Elliot,  between  the 
last  of  January  and  the  first  of  September,  1798,  he  read  and 
reviewed  those  parts  parts  of  Virgil,  Cicero's  Orations,  and  the 
Greek  Testament,   which  were   then   required  of  candidates  for 


LIFE    OF   EVARTS. 


11 


admission  to  Yale  College  ;  and  a  fellow-student  remarks  that  he 
was  probably  better  fitted  for  admission  than  half  of  his  class. 

The  discipline  of  the  woods  was  salutary  to  young  Evarts.  He 
had  books  and  sympathy  enough  to  cherish  without  fully  gratify- 
ing his  intellectual  tastes  ;  while  the  pursuits  and  observations  of 
his  daily  life  were  constant  lessons  of  industry,  energy,  self-reli- 
ance and  hope.  A  brief  journal,  in  which  he  made  almost  daily 
entries  from  the  time  of  his  going  to  school  at  Burlington  till  after 
he  entered  on  his  professional  studies,  shows  him  to  have  been 
uncommonly  thoughtful  and  observing,  and  to  have  possessed  in 
all  respects  a  remarkable  manliness  and  maturity  of  character.  If 
he  had  day-dreams,  they  were  of  books  and  learned  men,  and  of 
life  in  the  learned  professions  ;  while  the  realities  of  every  hour 
taught  him  how  difficulties  were  overcome  and  victories  achieved, 
—  to  labor,  as  well  as  live,  for  the  realization  of  distant  hopes. 
Improvement  was  an  object  kept  always  distinctly  in  view  ;  and 
he  was  laboring  constantly  to  furnish  his  mind  with  knowledge,  to 
form  a  character,  and  to  qualify  himself  for  usefulness.  Nor  was 
he  laying  the  foundation  for  intellectual  eminence  only  :  this  early 
period  of  his  life  was  marked  by  conscientiousness,  integrity,  firm- 
ness of  purpose,  freedom  from  passion  and  youthful  levity,  and  a 
wakeful  interest  in  whatever  affected  the  well-beinff  of  the  com- 

O 

munity  around  him. 

Thus,  in  his  eighteenth  year,  and  not  yet  a  twelve-month  from 
his  axe  and  plough,  the  young  student  was  admitted  a  member  of 
the  freshman  class  in  Yale  College  in  September,  1798.  "  I  well 
remember,"  says  a  classmate,  "  the  first  assembling  of  our  divis- 
ion of  the  class  for  recitation.  We  were  all  strangers  to  each 
other,  and  felt  the  usual  commixture  of  emotions  which  such  an 
occasion  is  wont  to  produce  ;  among  which  curiosity,  and  a  desire 
to  form  '  ominous  conjectures '  in  regard  to  each  one's  character 
and  merits,  are  not  the  least  active.  There  sat  Evarts,  in  a  plain 
rustic  garb,  with  which  fashion  evidently  had  never  intermeddled  ; 
his  stature  of  the  middling  height  ;  his  form  remarkably  slender  ; 
his  manners  stiff;  and  his  whole  exterior  having  nothing  to  pre- 
possess a  stranger  in  his  behalf,  except  a  countenance  which  be- 
spoke as  much  honesty  as  ever  falls  to  the  lot  of  man.  When  his 
turn  came  to  recite  he  made  z,  strong  impression  on  my  mind,  and 


12  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

I  believe  on  the  minds  of  most  present,  that  he  would  take  a  high 
stand  as  a  scholar.  He  at  once  gained  the  respect  of  his  com- 
panions ;  and  those  who  were  ambitious  of  intellectual  superiority 
seemed  to  feel  that  they  would  find  in  him  a  competitor."  His 
time  at  college  was  industriously  and  faithfully  employed.  He 
wasted  no  hours  in  aimless  reading,  and  passed  over  no  subject 
carelessly.  On  whatever  subject  he  took  up,  his  investigations 
and  reflections  were  continued  till  his  views  were  fully  settled  and 
ready  for  use.  He  did  not  read  a  book  without  knowing  distinctly 
what  there  was  in  it  that  he  approved  and  what  that  he  con- 
demned, and  being  able  to  assign  definite  reasons.  His  habits 
were  methodical,  and  his  memory,  in  regard  both  to  principles 
and  facts,  remarkably  retentive.  The  extent  to  which  he  pushed 
his  studies  in  literature  or  science  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
great ;  but  his  attainments  were  of  the  most  substantial  and  per- 
manent character.  The  class  to  which  he  belonged  was  one  of 
the  largest  and  best  that  had  ever  graduated  at  Yale,  and  was 
publicly  complimented  as  such  by  President  Dwight.  Evarts 
was  known  as  the  severest  student  in  college ;  and  in  respect  to 
habits  of  accurate  and  successful  investigation,  thorough  mastery  of 
the  whole  course  of  collegiate  study,  and  ability  to  bring  all  the 
faculties  of  his  mind  into  judicious  use,  he  probably  had  no  supe- 
rior in  his  class. 

But  his  collegiate  life  cannot  be  passed  over  thus  briefly  ;  al- 
though the  interest  of  the  pages  here  devoted  to  it  must  result  not 
from  any  succession  of  brilliant  intellectual  triumphs,  rarely 
achieved  and  far  beyond  the  common  hope  ;  but  chiefly  from  hab- 
its and  characteristics  that  every  student  may  aim  at  without  pre- 
sumption and  cultivate  with  success.  "  He  was  prominent,"  says 
a  classmate,  "  for  his  sagacity,  his  manly  and  industrious  habits, 
his  generous  regard  of  his  companions,  his  wisdom  and  scholar- 
ship, in  the  whole  of  his  collegiate  course  ;  and  including  the 
whole  series  of  studies,  he  had  not  his  superior  in  the  class.  He 
was  punctual,  to  a  proverb,  in  all  the  duties  assigned  him  ;  and 
although  conscious  of  what  he  could  achieve,  he  never  shunned 
the  society  of  his  inferiors  in  point  of  talents  and  acquirements, 
nor  allowed  himself  to  speak  of  them  with  a  supercilious  air,  or 
with  severity,  or  even  with   disrespect  and  any  unkjndness.     I 


LIFE    OF   EVARTS. 


13 


never  knew  him  severe  either  in  college,  or  since,  except  upon 
error,  vice  and  crime.  By  this  generous  course,  he  endeared  him- 
self to  all  who  had  intercourse  with  him,  secured  the  warm  confi- 
dence of  his  friends,  and  contributed  to  their  usefulness  and  hap- 
piness. He  early  developed  qualities  which  fitted  him  to  sway 
the  human  mind,  and  to  shape  and  direct  public  sentiment.  On 
all  questions  he  was  heard  with  interest  ;  and  on  questions  of  dif- 
ficulty, when  passions  became  violent,  and  the  excitement  ap- 
proaching to  a  tempest,  his  voice,  his  counsels,  his  arguments, 
which  even  then  bore  the  dignity  of  age  and  experience,  were 
always  influential,  and  often  such  as  to  control  the  meeting.  Not 
unfrequently,  his  efforts,  in  an  emergency  of  unusual  interest,  se- 
cured a  triumph  on  the  side  he  advocated  ;  and  I  do  not  recollect 
an  instance,  in  which  he  allowed  himself  to  enlist  warmly  and 
perseveringly  on  the  wrong  side.  We  were  sure  to  hear  the  voice 
of  Evarts  on  the  side  of  law,  order,  respect  for  constituted  author- 
ities, for  superiors  in  age  and  office,  and  for  the  principles  of  virtue. 
In  these  respects,  he  was  an  eminent  example  for  all  his  colle<Te 
acquaintance,  and  exhibited  the  same  noble,  generous,  and  fixed 
traits  of  character,  which  were  so  happily  developed  in  his  subse- 
quent life.  When  I  have  seen  him  in  Boston,  in  New  York,  in 
Philadelphia,  and  elsewhere,  in  private  consultation  or  in  public 
discussion,  I  have  been  struck  with  the  fact,  and  have  remarked 
it  to  others,  how  very  like  in  his  manner,  in  his  matter,  and  in  his 
chief  aim,  is  our  friend  Evarts  to  what  he  was  in  college  :  calm 
cool,  dignified,  of  unbending  integrity,  with  the  spirit  of  an  acute 
jurist,  of  a  statesman,  an  apostle  and  a  hero  ;  fearlessly  sustaininf 
the  truth,  to  the  honor  of  his  country  and  the  good  of  men.  Presi-  4^ 
dent  Dwight  acknowledged  him  among  his  favorites,  as  a  scholar 
as  a  Christian,  and  as  a  friend.  In  the  senior  year,  when  the  ques- 
tion before  the  class  for  forensic  discussion  was,  *  Is  dancing  a  useful 
employment  ?  '  Evarts  came  in  competition  with  the  President 
in  a  manner  which  amused  and  instructed  us  all.  The  Doctor 
allowed  his  pupils  in  freedom  of  remark,  to  any  extent  within  the 
bounds  of  decorum  and  sound  argument.  He  had  somewhat  free- 
ly stated  the  reasons  in  justification  of  dancing,  and  seemed  to 
justify  balls,  when  properly  conducted  and  confined  to  a  select 
party.     Evarts  had  taken  the  other  side  of  the  question,  and  be- 


14  LIFE   OF   EVARTS. 

came  alarmed  at  the  appearance  of  a  dangerous  latitudinarianism 
on  this  subject,  from  so  high  authority,  and  was  anxious  to  secure 
a  righteous  decision.  In  the  course  of  the  debate,  and  in  reply- 
to  some  views  of  the  President,  in  a  manner  familiar,  but  respect- 
ful and  dignified,  he  turned  upon  him  with  an  appeal  derived  from 
that  petition  in  the  Lord's  prayer,  "  lead  us  not  into  temptation." 
*  Sir,  can  you  say  to  the  youth  in  this  community,  anything  which 
shall  encourage  them  in  their  fondness  for  the  frivolities  of  the 
ball-room  ;  that  shall  blind  them  to  the  vices  and  the  many  dan- 
gers of  this  scene  of  delusive  charms  and  merriment  ?  —  can  you 
do  this,  when  rising  from  your  knees  in  prayer,  having  offered  the 
petition,  lead  us  not  into  temptation,  and  with  the  sound  of  this 
request  still  vibrating  on  your  ear,  enter  the  ball-room  ;  —  or  direct 
your  pupils  to  offer  this  prayer  and  then  tell  them  that  they  can, 
with  safety  or  with  innocence,  resort  to  the  ball-room,  and  lead 
in  the  dance  ? '  This  appeal,  with  the  attendant  remarks,  was 
happy  and  powerful ;  and  whilst  his  classmates  were  delighted 
with  his  decision  and  boldness,  it  was  obvious  that  the  President 
himself  was  gratified,  though  his  arguments  were  frittered  and  given 
to  the  winds.  This  anecdote  illustrates  a  leading  characteristic 
in  this  man,  which  he  uniformly  exhibited  when  the  emergency 
called  for  it."  * 

"  His  recitations,"  another  remarks,  "  showed  that  he  spared 
no  pains  to  master  his  studies  ;  and  his  accuracy  on  all  points 
proved  the  minuteness  of  his  investigations  and  the  clearness  of 
his  apprehension.  It  was  not  with  him,  as  it  is  with  too  many 
who  come  out  occasionally  with  superior  mental  efforts,  giving  ev- 
idence of  what  they  might  be  with  uniform  exertion,  but  as  often 
sinking  into  inferiority  through  want  of  constant  diligence  ;  —  he 
was  always  prepared  on  his  lessons  ;  his  accuracy  never  forsook 
him  ;  and  1  do  not  remember  that  he  ever  lost  a  lesson,  or  recited 
one  imperfectly.  This  will  hold  true  of  him  through  his  whole 
college  course.  As  our  studies  varied  in  our  onward  progress,  the 
same   accuracy   and   diligence  were   still   conspicuous.     I  do  not 

*  In  one  of  his  Note  Books  of  this  period,  is  a  sketch  of  the  leading-  considerations 
urged  by  him  in  the  debate  mentioned  above.  The  topics  enumerated  exhaust  the 
subject,  and  are  selected  and  arranged  with  a  degree  of  judgment  and  ability  that 
would  be  expected  only  from  mature  intellect  and  long  practice.  The  argument  was 
afterwards  written  out  and  published  in  a  series  of  numbers  in  a  newspaper. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 


15 


consider  it  invidious  to  others  to  say  that,  all  things  considered, 
he  early  became  the  first  scholar  in  his  division  of  the  class,  and 
maintained  that  rank  to  the  end  of  his  collegiate  course.  Others 
may  have  excelled  him  somewhat  in  some  particular  department  ; 
but,  taking  the  various  branches  of  study  into  view,  I  am  confident 
that  all  would  have  awarded  him  the  first  place. 

"  Mr.  Evarts  was  naturally  inclined  to  be  accurate  and  partic- 
ular about  everything.  Whenever  he  examined  a  subject,  he 
wished  to  know  all  about  it,  and  to  understand  it  just  as  it  was. 
Whatever  he  undertook  to  do,  he  endeavored  to  do  it  well.  Yet 
there  was  nothing  in  him  which  we  usually  denominate  plodding. 
His  perceptions  were  quick,  and  he  grasped  a  subject  with  great 
readiness,  but  without  parade  ;  and  having  grasped  it,  he  never 
relinquished  his  hold.  He  possessed,  also,  much  acutencss  of 
mind.  It  was  a  hard  matter,  indeed,  to  impose  upon  him  with 
false  appearances.  I  was  never  acquainted  with  a  man  who  was 
naturally  a  greater  lover  of  truth,  relate  to  what  it  might  ;  and 
few,  I  believe,  have  been  better  able  to  comprehend  it.  It  is  dif- 
ficult to  say  in  what  department  he  particularly  excelled.  His 
mind  was  of  such  a  structure  that  it  made  little  difference  to  what 
branch  of  study  his  attention  was  directed.  He  seemed  to  con- 
sider all  the  parts  of  the  course  of  study  pursued  in  college  as 
wisely  prescribed  by  the  proper  authority,  and  well  adapted  to 
the  improvement  of  the  mind  ;  and  that  he  was  not  at  liberty  to 
form  predilections  in  favor  of  one  or  more  branches  to  the  neglect 
of  others,  and  then  to  rely  on  his  distaste  for  the  latter  as  an  apol- 
ogy for  his  defects,  and  a  quietus  to  his  conscience.  For  the  first 
two  or  three  years  he  excelled  less  in  composition  than  in  any 
other  collegiate  exercise  ;  not  from  the  want  of  thoughts,  and  a 
clear  and  forcible  expression  of  them,  but  rather  from  a  defect  in 
the  ornaments  of  style,  and  rhetorical  embellishment  in  general. 
I  well  remember  a  remark  made  to  him  by  our  Tutor,*  after  read- 
ing a  composition  some  time  in  our  junior  year,  that  his  style  and 
language  were  correct,  and  such  as  were  suited  to  the  gravity  of 
age ;  but  unless  he  cultivated  a  more  florid  style  in  the  season  of 
youth  when  some  redundancy  is  tolerated,  he  would  be  in  danger, 

*  Rev.  Henry  Davis,  D.  D.,  afterwards  President    of  Middlebury  and   Hamilton 
Colleges. 


16  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

as  he  advanced  in  life,  of  becoming  dry  beyond  what  a  proper  re- 
gard to  taste  would  warrant.  This  intimation  was  not  thrown 
away.  From  that  time  he  began  to  cultivate  his  style  ;  and 
his  compositions  soon  evinced  that  he  possessed  good  taste,  as 
well  as  solidity  of  thinking.  The  fact  was,  his  mind  had  been 
too  intent  on  truth  to  regard  with  much  solicitude  the  mere  garb 
in  which  it  was  presented  to  others.  In  his  senior  year,  the  in- 
vestigation of  moral  truth,  in  direct  reference  to  the  benefitting  of 
mankind,  seemed  to  be  his  favorite  pursuit.  He  had  little  relish 
for  curious  speculations.  Theories  he  did  not  discard  ;  but  such 
as  were  reducible  to  practice  were  the  only  ones  which  claimed 
his  serious  attention. 

It  was  not  until  the  middle  of  his  senior  year,  that  Mr.  Evarts 
became  a  Christian.  Before  this  event,  hovk^ever,  his  moral  princi- 
ples and  conduct  were  strictly  correct.  No  one  ever  possessed 
o-reater  natural  integrity,  or  was  more  punctilious  in  the  discharge  of 
what  he  deemed  to  be  his  duty.  He  was  always  conspicuous  for  his 
industry,  and  his  love  of  order,  punctuality  and  method,  in  what- 
ever he  undertook.  Few  scholars  had  ever  less  occasion  for  self- 
reproach  on  account  of  time  misspent.  In  his  intercourse  with 
his  companions,  he  was  open-hearted,  honest,  sincere.  He  ap- 
peared to  have  an  instinctive  dislike  for  whatever  was  morally 
wrong,  vain,  or  frivolous  ;  and  he  was  forward  to  reprove  it, 
wherever  discovered.  No  one  in  the  class  was  allowed  to  admin- 
ister reproof  with  equal  freedom,  or  could  do  it  with  so  little 
offence.  Such  was  his  reputation  for  integrity  and  judiciousness, 
that  none  seemed  to  question  his  motives,  or  refused  to  pay  def- 
erence to  his  opinions.  Some  might  have  thought  that  his  ten- 
dency was  to  be  somewhat  too  censorious,  but  no  one  doubted 
the  purity  of  his  intentions,  or  the  benevolence  by  which  he  was 
actuated.  He  was  not  prone  to  consider  any  faults  as  venial ; 
and  for  that  reason  he  did  not  admit,  as  justifications,  many  of  the 
excuses  which  might  be  pleaded  in  self-vindication.  At  any  rate 
he  was  impartial ;  for  he  judged  himself  by  the  same  rule  that  he 
applied  to  others,  and  practised  favoritism  to  none.  There  was 
nothing  in  his  character  which  bordered  on  moroseness.  Though 
grave,  he  was  cheerful ;  he  was  fond  of  society,  companionable 
in  his  habits  and  feelings,  entertaining  in  his  conversation,  and 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  17 

ready  both  to  receive  and  to  impart  innocent  amusement.  Though 
a  strict  disciplinarian,  he  was  a  great  enemy  to  all  stifihess  and 
formality  in  the  intercourse  between  friends.  Among  these  he 
made  himself  at  home,  treated  them  without  reserve,  and  wished 
to  be  so  treated  in  return.  This  was  the  result  both  of  his  natu- 
ral directness  of  manner  in  all  his  conduct,  and  of  the  openness 
of  his  disposition.  Notwithstanding  his  natural  gravity  and  seri- 
ousness, k\v  men  ever  had  a  stronger  sense  of  the  ridiculous,  or 
were  more  easily  provoked  to  a  laugh  by  the  sudden  presentation 
of  a  ludicrous  object." 

Such  was  he  before  he  became  a  new  man  in  Christ.  Through 
the  whole  period  of  his  youth,  he  had  been  attentive  to  the  claims 
of  Divine  truth,  and  of  unblemished  morals.  In  the  house  of 
God  he  was  a  careful  and  studious  hearer.  From  the  time  of  his 
arrival  at  Guilford  the  subjects  of  all  the  sermons  that  he  heard 
were  noticed  in  his  Diary,  sometimes  with  brief  outlines,  and  at 
others  with  a  remark  or  two  of  his  own.  After  he  entered  college 
and  became  a  hearer  of  Dr.  Dwight,  these  notes  became  gradu- 
ally more  copious,  those  of  a  single  sermon  sometimes  occupying 
many  pages.  His  respect  for  the  Bible  and  the  Sabbath  were 
unusual ;  and  at  the  daily  religious  exercises  in  the  coJlege  chapel, 
his  air  and  manner  were  devotional.  The  Scriptures  read  and 
the  remarks  made  by  the  President  at  these  services  were  fre- 
quently noticed  in  his  Diary.  He  has  been  heard  to  say  that  it 
was  a  matter  of  inquiry  with  him  then,  whether  he  did  not  pos- 
sess a  truly  religious  character.  But  he  had  not  yet  learned  the 
plague  of  his  own  heart,  and  afterwards  felt  the  need  of  a  state  of 
soul  far  different  from  anything  that  he  had  yet  experienced. 
Among  his  p;  pers  is  a  Prayer,  dated  February  26,  1798  ;  a  few 
months  before  he  entered  college.  The  next  year  he  became  a 
regular  attendant  at  the  meetings  for  prayer  held  weekly  by  the 
few  pious  students  then  in  college,  and  read  with  great  interest 
such  missionary  intelligence  as  came  within  his  reach.*  Occa- 
sional passages  from  his  Journal  show  that  religion  was  a  subject 
of  frequent  and  serious  thought : 

*  A  ■'  Missionary  Magazine"  was  then  pnWished  at  New  York, 


18  LIFE    OF   EVARTS. 

1800,  Aug.  24, — Sunday.  The  President  preached  in  the 
morning,  from  Titus  ii.  6.  At  the  close  of  the  sermon  he  rec- 
ommended to  us,  to  shut  ourselves  up  after  divine  service  in  the 
afternoon,  and  look  into  our  prospect  for  the  world  to  come.  In 
this  examination  he  advised  us  to  leave  passion  and  appetite  be- 
hind, and  to  go  according  to  the  dictates  of  reason  and  conscience. 
This  advice  (God  willing)  I  intend  to  follow.  In  the  afternoon 
the  text  was  1  Peter  i.  15,  16.  I  endeavored  to  comply  with 
the  President's  request.  It  is  wonderful  how  remiss  men  are  in 
respect  to  their  future  state.  I  have  been  remarkably  so.  At  the 
same  time  I  have  a  very  feeble  constitution,  and  my  health  is  very 
bad  ;  so  that  it  is  probable  I  shall  soon  go  down  to  the  grave,  the 
house  appointed  for  all  the  living.  I  pray  God,  in  his  infinite 
mercy,  to  prepare  me  for  the  change. 

Dec.  28,  P.  M.  A  sermon  from  the  last  verse  of  Ecclesi- 
astfts.     It  was  very  affecting.     O  God,  may  I  live  mindful  of  the 

judgment  1     ,  of  our  class,  was  propounded  for  admission 

to  the  church.     Would  that  I  were  fit. 

These  serious  hours  were  however  comparatively  only  excep- 
tions to  the  general  tenor  of  his  life,  which  was  still  "  according 
to  the  course  of  this  world." 

1801,  Aug.  19.  News  arrived  of  the  death  of  Strong,  my 
classmate.  He  was  a  member  of  the  visible,  and  we  hope  of  the 
real  church  of  Christ.  He  and  I  were  appointed  disputants  to- 
gether seven  months  ago,  and  now  he  is  gone  !  '  One  shall  be 
taken,  and  another  left.'  This  certainly  ought  to  be  a  warning 
to  me,  and  God  grant  that  it  may. 

1802,  Jan.  9.  From  my  own  experience  I  am  induced  to 
believe  that  evil  spirits  are  continually  present  on  this  earth,  and 
that  they  tempt  and  lead  astray  the  minds  of  men.  Else,  whence 
does  it  so  frequently  happen  to  me,  and  to  many  others,  that,  when 
we  are  thinking  seriously  on  any  subject,  the  bent  of  our  minds  is 
suddenly  turned  aside,  and  something  seems  to  force  itself  forward 
on  purpose  to  distract  attention.  The  thoughts  introduced  are 
also  of  a  light  and  profane  character,  —  besides  the  circumstance 
of  their  being  such  as  never  before  occurred.     How  ought  vv'e  to 


LIFE    OF   EVARTS.  1^ 

pray  for  assistance  in  the  hoar  of  formidable  temptation  !  How 
ought  we  to  thank  the  Lord  for  his  kind  protection  of  us  against 
he  wiles  of  the  arch-deceiver,  and  for  the  assurance  in  his  word, 
—  '  resist  the  devil,  and  he  will  flee  from  you.'' 

March  7.  My  friend  Field  *  was  admitted  into  the  holy 
communion  of  the  Christian  church.  I  pray  God  that  I  may  be 
no  longer  careless  about  my  eternal  salvation. 

The  admission  to  the  church  of  a  member  of  his  class,  as  men- 
tioned in  the  last  extract,  and  a  conversation  with  the  same  indi- 
vidual the  week  before,  were  the  means  of  greatly  deepening  Mr. 
Evarts's  religious  impressions.  The  evening  of  the  13th  of  March 
was  spent  by  him  in  conversation  with  Dr.  Dwight  and  his  tutor, 
Mr.  Davis,  on  the  question,  What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved  ?  He 
very  soon  after  found  peace  in  believing,  and  consecrated  himself 
to  the  service  of  Christ  in  a  written  covenant,  as  recommended  in 
Doddi'idge's  *  Rise  and  Progress,'  which  he  was  reading  at  the  time. 
This  was  before  any  uncommon  seriousness  began  to  prevail  in 
college.  He  very  soon  became  a  member  of  the  College  church, 
and  engaged,  humbly,  but  zealously  and  with  characteristic  frank- 
ness and  decision,  in  labors  to  bring  his  fellow-students  to  know 
and  obey  the  truth. 

But  this  season  was  the  beginning  of  an  era  not  only  in  his 
life,  but  in  the  religious  history  of  the  College,  and,  to  a  great 
extent,  of  our  country. 

"  When  Evarts  entered  college,"  says  his  classmate,  Dr.  Field, 
*'  there  were  very  few  pious  students.  Two  only  are  believed  at 
that  time  to  have  joined  the  class,  and  one  of  these  died  the  sec- 
ond year.  There  were  some  solitary  conversions  afterwards,  and 
about  seven  before  the  revival  began.  There  were  a  few  in  the 
three  under  classes  ;  from  fifteen  to  twenty  among  all  the  students ; 
who,  with  those  belonging  to  the  faculty,  constituted  the  College 
church.  The  graduates  in  the  four  classes  affected  by  the  revival, 
namely,  those  who  took  their  degrees  in  1802-5,  were  221.  The 
pious  students  had  been  in  the  habit  of  meeting  weekly  for 
prayer,  to  implore  the  influences   of  the  Holy  Spirit   upon    their 

*  Rev.  D.  D.  Fieldj  D.  D.,  now  of  Haddam,  Conn. 


20  LIFE    OF  EVARTS. 

own  hearts  and  upon  the  hearts  of  theh'  associates.  Those  seasons 
were  very  precious.  Says  one  accustomed  to  attend  them,  whose 
letter  is  before  me,  '  If  1  ever  knew  what  it  is  to  pray  with  fer- 
vency, if  I  ever  had  any  true  fellowship  with  Christians,  it  was  at 
those  meetings.'  The  college  all  along  enjoyed  the  excellent  in- 
structions of  President  Dwight,  who  was  also  professor  of  theology. 
The  discourses  contained  in  his  system  of  theology  were  preached 
to  the  students,  together  with  miscellaneous  discourses,  oftentimes 
more  experimental  and  pungent,  and  at  times  not  less  eloquent. 
These  were  now  specially  owned  and  blessed  of  God. 

"  It  should  be  mentioned  here,  certainly  not  with  boasting,  but 
with  gratitude  to  the  Father  of  mercies,  that  the  class  to  which 
Mr.  Evarts  belonged,  was  saved  from  those  unhappy  occurrences, 
to  which  ardent  and  inexperienced  youth  are  much  exposed,  so 
appropriately  denominated  college  scrapes.  Nothing  of  this  kind 
took  place  through  their  whole  course ;  nor  was  an  individual  in 
the  class  detected  in  anything  which  occasioned  expulsion,  sus- 
pension, or  public  admonition.  This  unusual  exemption  was 
ascribable  to  various  causes  ;  to  the  paternal  government  of  the 
college,  to  the  excellent  tutors,  (Mr.  Day,  now  president  of  the 
college,  and  Mr.  Davis,)  who  instructed  the  two  divisions  of  the 
class  the  first  three  years,  and  in  whom  the  greatest  confidence 
was  placed,  and  to  the  influence  of  Evarts  and  other  prominent 
individuals,  who  were  always  on  the  side  of  order  and  virtue. 

"  It  is  not  in  my  power,  after  the  lapse  of  more  than  thirty 
years,  to  describe  minutely  the  workings  of  Evarts's  mind  ; 
though  it  is  well  remembered  that  his  distress  was  great.  This 
appeared  in  his  countenance  and  in  everything  pertaining  to  him. 
But  he  soon  found  joy  and  peace  in  believing  in  Christ.  Having 
been  well  indoctrinated,  he  assumed  almost  at  once  the  character  of 
a  confirmed  as  he  did  of  a  humble  believer.  On  the  4th  of  April 
he  united  with  the  church.  At  this  time,  (as  it  is  stated  in  the 
account  of  the  revival  in  the  Connecticut  Evangelical  Magazine,) 
*a  few  others,  though  it  was  not  then  publicly  known,  had  become 
particularly  attentive  to  divine  things.'  On  the  3d  of  May  three 
others  united  with  the  church,  who  are  now  ministers  of  the  gos- 
pel in  three  different  States  ;  and  on  the  10th,  three  more,  one  of 
whom  was  the  Rev.  Joshua  Huntington,  the  late  greatly  beloved 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  21 

pastor  of  the  Old  South  Church  in  Boston.  '  Before  their  ad- 
mission,' (that  is,  the  admission  of  these  six  in  May,)  says  the 
account  just  referred  to,  '  a  small  number  of  others  began  to  be 
uncommonly  serious.  About  this  time  the  same  disposition  ap- 
peared rapidly  to  extend  itself,  so  that  before  the  vacation,  which 
began  on  the  12th  of  May,  not  less  than  fifty  of  the  students  ex- 
hibited a  new  and  very  solemn  sense  of  the  importance  of  divine 
things.'  At  no  period  of  the  revival  was  the  work  more  rapid 
and  powerful  than  in  the  first  part  of  this  month.  The  convictions 
of  some  were  very  deep,  and  in  some  instances  they  were  pro- 
longed. In  the  prospect  of  separating,  the  pious  part  of  the  stu- 
dents were  very  much  concerned  lest  they  themselves  and  their 
awakened  companions  should  suffer  from  the  temptations  to 
which  they  would  be  exposed  during  the  period  of  relaxation  ; 
the  Lord  was  entreated  to  prevent  the  evil,  and  the  evil  was  pre- 
vented. The  pious  and  the  awakened  in  one  case  and  in  another 
found  among  their  relatives  and  their  friends,  among  ministers 
and  private  Christians,  those  who  took  the  deepest  interest  in  their 
situation,  who  counselled  them  and  prayed  for  them.  Thus  the 
revival  became  a  subject  of  greater  notoriety  and  of  more  general 
interest.  As  there  had  been  no  considerable  revival  in  the  college 
for  a  long  period,  and  as  there  was  a  great  want  of  ministers  in 
the  country,  many  blessed  God  for  what  had  been  accomplished. 
Public  prayers  were  offered  for  the  advancement  of  the  revival  in 
some  of  the  churches  in  the  State.  No  one  is  recollected  to  have 
lost  his  impressions  during  the  vacation.  So  it  is  said  in  the  ac- 
count to  which  reference  has  been  repeatedly  made  :  '  On  their 
return,  after  vacation,  the  same  character  still  predominated,  and 
hitherto  not  an  individual  has  appeared  to  lose  the  interest  which 
he  had  professed  to  feel  in  religious  subjects.  The  only  change 
which  has  been  perceived  is  that  in  which  good  men  will  rejoice. 
The  determination  to  leave  all  and  follow  Christ,  has,  it  is  be- 
lieved, become  stronger  and  more  settled.  The  number  also  has 
become  considerably  enlarged  —  upwards  of  eighty  appear  now 
to  be  deeply  interested  in  their  salvation.'  This  account  was 
dated  on  the  15th  of  June.  It  was  drawn  up  by  a  member  of  the 
faculty,  and  was,  not  improbably,  shown  to  all  the  members,  and 
approved  by  them.     It  is  remarkably  candid  and  correct,  so  far  as 


22  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

it  goes.  It  should  be  remembered  however  that  the  revival  pro- 
gressed after  this  was  written.  In  the  month  of  July,  twenty-two 
were  admitted  to  the  church,  fourteen  of  whom  have  been  settled 
in  the  ministry.  A  number  were  admitted  in  the  month  of  Au- 
gust, and  on  the  first  Sabbath  in  September,  the  Sabbath  preceding 
the  commencement,  when  Mr.  Evarts  and  fifty-five  others  took 
the  Baccalaureat  degree.  Of  these,  twenty-five  were  then  pro- 
fessors of  religion.  These  entered  into  a  covenant  of  mutual  cor- 
respondence and  fidelity.  They  also  engaged,  among  other  things, 
to  be  done  for  their  classmates  universally,  'to  pray  for  those  of 
them  who  were  then  inquiring  the  way  to  Zion,  that  they  might 
be  brought  into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  sons  of  God,  and  that 
those  who  were  then  in  the  gall  of  bitterness  and  bond  of  iniquity 
might  be  brought  to  the  acknowledgment  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in 
Jesus.'  Two  died  within  a  year,  whose  minds  were  impressed  in 
the  revival,  and  who  gave  some  evidence  of  piety,  though  they 
did  not  unite  with  the  church  on  earth.  Several  others  united  with 
churches  either  that  year,  or  soon  after,  whose  religious  course 
commenced  that  season.  Of  this  class  of  fifty-five,  twenty  are 
now  in  their  graves. 

"  The  number  of  converts  in  all  the  classes  would  doubtless  be 
estimated  differently.  Without  attempting  too  great  precision,  it 
would  probably  be,  by  different  individuals,  between  seventy-five 
and  ninety ;  while  a  happy  influence  was  thrown  over  the  college 
at  large.  Though  at  first  a  very  few  were  disposed  to  cavil,  yet 
the  appearance  of  opposition  scarcely  existed  while  the  revival 
continued.  The  impression  was  nearly  or  quite  universal  that  the 
work  was  of  God.  Everywhere,  in  the  apartments  of  the  stu- 
dents, in  the  recitation  rooms,  in  the  college  yard,  in  walks  in  the 
streets  in  and  about  the  city,  and  especially  in  the  sanctuary, 
there  were  indications  of  the  divine  presence. 

"  '  With  respect  to  religion,'  continues  the  account,  '  all  of 
them  are  greatly  desirous  to  be  taught,  but  none  to  assume  the 
office  of  teaching.  No  spirit  of  self-sufficiency,  no  inclination  to 
distribute  censures,  no  appearance  of  arrogance,  no  flights  of  a 
wild  imagination,  have  hitherto  been  discovered.  The  lofty- 
minded  have  become  humble,  the  light-minded  sober,  the  thought- 
less solemn,  and  the  vicious  regular  and  uncensurable.     The  doc- 


LIFE    OF   EVARTS.  23 

trines  of  grace  appear  almost  instinctively  to  be  acknowledged  by 
all,  without  a  doubt,  as  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel  —  the  doctrines 
according  to  which  they  hope  to  be  saved. 

"  '  The  influence  of  this  spirit  on  their  companions  has  been 
visible  and  not  unimportant.  There  are  very  few  who  are  not 
more  solemn,  and  in  whom  a  greater  propriety  of  conduct  is  not 
clearly  discernible. 

"  '  On  the  whole,  the  state  of  Yale  College  is,  in  the  view  of 
the  instructors,  more  pleasing  and  desirable  than  at  any  former 
period  within  their  knowledge.' 

"  The  college  exercises,  I  think,  were  not  suspended  at  all  ; 
but  the  students  availed  themselves  of  the  intervals  between  study 
hours  and  other  college  duties,  and  spent  them  in  reading,  conver- 
sation and  devotion.  Whenever  they  met,  two,  five,  ten  or  more 
together,  religion  was  the  all-absorbing  subject  of  thought  and  re- 
mark. Some  of  the  discourses  of  the  President  at  that  time  were 
particularly  impressive.  One  is  recollected  on  divine  sovereignty, 
and  another  on  the  text,  '  Think  not  to  say  within  yourselves, 
We  have  Abraham  to  our  father  :  for  I  say  unto  you  that  God  is 
able  of  these  stones  to  raise  up  children  unto  Abraham.'  The 
venerable  Dr.  Perkins,  of  West  Hartford,  came  and  spent  a  Sab- 
bath at  college.  A  sermon  was  preached  there  by  Rev.  Ammi 
R.  Robbins,  of  Norfolk  ;  and  another  by  Rev.  Azel  Bachus,  D.  D., 
then  of  Bethlehem,  afterwards  President  of  Hamilton  College, 
from  the  passage,  '  Except  ye  be  converted,  and  become  as  little 
children,  ye  shall  not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.' 

"  The  influence  of  this  revival  upon  the  college  at  the  time  has 
been  sufficiently  shown.  It  must  have  been  happy  on  succeeding 
classes.  Religion  has  never  been  as  low  at  that  institution  since 
as  before. 

"  The  influence  of  this  revival  has  been  important  on  society. 
When  this  is  said,  it  is  not  to  be  disguised  that  a  few,  of  whom  bet- 
ter things  were  then  hoped,  have  since  given  but  doubtful  evi- 
dence of  piety.  But  to  the  honor  of  divine  grace  it  should  be 
recorded,  that  the  mass  of  those  who  were  then  regarded  as  truly 
converted  to  God,  have  adorned  their  profession.  About  forty-five 
became  ministers  of  the  gospel,  who  first  found  a  good  hope 
through  grace  at  that  time.     Some  were  orevented  from  entering 


24  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

the  ministry  through  feebleness  of  voice  or  of  general  health. 
These,  with  others  have  carried  the  influence  of  piety  into  vari- 
ous occupations  and  departments  of  life." 

Another  classmate,*  speaking  of  his  conversion,  says  :  "  I  know 
that  for  some  time  previous  his  attention  was  strongly  turned  upon 
religious  subjects  ;  that  his  natural  conscientiousness,  regard  to 
truth,  punctiliousness  as  to  duty,  and  his  attention  to  the  means 
of  grace  were  much  strengthened  ;  and  that  he  was  one  of  the 
first  whose  hopeful  conversion  became  the  harbinger  of  good 
things  to  come.  As  soon  as  he  became,  in  his  own  estimation,  a 
disciple  of  Christ,  he  put  forth  all  his  powers  in  the  service  of  his 
Master.  He  considered  himself  called  upon  to  live  to  the  glory 
of  God  and  the  good  of  mankind.  He  took  an  active  and  con- 
spicuous part  in  promoting  the  revival,  and  was  anxious  to  extend 
its  blessings  to  every  individual  in  college.  He  shunned  no  re- 
sponsibility and  refused  no  labor  in  subserving  to  this  end.  Such 
had  been  his  previous  moral  training,  such  the  correctness  of  his 
views  on  matters  of  religion,  such  the  maturity  of  his  judgment, 
and  such  his  general  weight  of  character,  that  he  seemed  hardly 
to  pass  a  novitiate  in  a  religious  life,  but  took  at  once  the  attitude 
of  an  old  disciple.  His  counsel  and  advice  were  soon  in  demand, 
and  were  given  with  an  ease  and  a  promptitude  which  seemed 
natural  only  to  long  experience.  How  far  his  prayers  and  exer- 
tions contributed  to  advance  that  work  of  divine  grace  whicl^  dif- 
fused such  joy  and  gladness  through  the  churches  in  our  land,  and 
whose  fruits  are  enjoyed  to  this  day,  can  be  known  only  to  the 
Being  to  whom  those  prayers  and  exertions  were  consecrated." 
"  In  a  youth  whose  mind  had  been  so  well  disciplined,"  says 
another,  "  and  whose  moral  and  even  religious  habits  had  been 
very  much  in  accordance  with  the  gospel,  so  far  as  the  eye  of 
man  could  see,  the  change  from  the  old  to  the  new  man  in  Christ 
Jesus,  would  not  be  so  marked,  especially  in  his  external  conduct. 
But  he  was  effectually  convicted  of  his  deep  native  depravity  — 
placed  no  reliance  for  acceptance  on  any  previous  character  or 
qualification,  —  and  with  a  repentance  accompanied  with  self- 
loathing  and  self-condemnation,  he  gave  himself  to  God,  relying 

*  Hon.  John  Hall,  of  Ellington,  Conn. 


LIFE    OF   EVARTS.  25 

solely  on  his  mercy  through  Christ.  I  mention  this  because  of 
his  strictly  moral  life  before  his  conversion,  and  that  it  may  be 
known  that  from  the  first  he  was  prepared  to  take  the  ground  of 
total  ill-desert  on  his  part.  But  although  no  striking  change  ap- 
peared in  his  conduct,  the  evidence  of  a  great  revolution  in  the 
entire  man  appeared  in  the  marked  elevation   of  his  whole  mind, 

—  his  views,  feelings  and  aims  now  having  come  under  a  holy 
influence ;  his  virtues  were  ennobled  and  animated  by  the  as- 
pirations of  holy  love ;  his  soul  acted  under  a  new  sense  of  the 
excellence  of  purity,  and  struggled  with    fresh  vigor   to  acquire  it, 

—  alive  to  the  degradation  of  mankind  under  the  pressure  of  sin, 
and  alive  to  the  purpose  to  vindicate  the  claims  of  divine  truth. 
His  correspondent  solicitude  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  his  class- 
mates and  others,  and  the  faithful  labors  which  resulted  from  it, 
greatly  endeared  him  to  not  a  few,  and  rendered  his  usefulness  to 
the  church  of  Christ,  even  in  the  first  weeks  of  his  membership, 
prominent." 

But  however  high  the  estimate  made  by  others  of  the  Christian 
character  and  the  usefulness  of  Mr.  Evarts  at  this  time,  he  was 
himself  deeply  sensible  of  his  own  insufficiency,  and  of  his  constant 
need  of  grace,  and  strength,  and  wisdom  from  above.  The  vaca- 
tion, which  commenced  about  the  middle  of  May,  was  spent 
in  a  visit  to  his  friends  in  Vermont.  His  journal  gives  evidence 
of  habitual  watchfulness  and  self-searching  : 

"  Called,"  he  says,  "  upon  M.,  of  the  junior  class.  Found  his 
religious  impressions  not  yet  worn  off,  — thanks  be  to  God."  "  I 
sinned  this  day  in  speaking  rashly  and  in  harboring  evil  thoughts." 
"  To-day  T  was  vain,  light,  ostentatious  and  foolish  in  some  of  my 
behavior.  For  three  nights  past  I  have  been  where  family  prayers 
were  attended.  How  delightful  it  is."  "  Sabbath.  Last  night  I 
endeavored  to  examine  my  conduct  for  the  week  past.  O  Lord, 
it  is  of  thy  goodness  that  I  am  not  cut  off  in  my  sins."  "  Lord's 
Day.  As  this  is  the  first  Sabbath  in  the  month,  I  have  endeav- 
ored to  examine  my  conduct  for  the  five  weeks  past."  *'  During 
the  week  past  I  have  spoken  too  much  against  people,  and  have 
been  too  ready  to  condemn  others  rather  than  myself."  "Satur- 
day. On  looking  back  I  find  that  for  the  past  week  I  have  been 
remiss  in  the  daily  examination  of  my  conduct."  ■' '  Then  shall 
4 


26  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

two  be  in  the  field  ;  the  one  shall  be  taken,  and  the  other  left.' 
The  truth  of  this  is  seen  in  college  at  the  present  time.  In  sev- 
eral instances  persons  have  all  at  once  forsaken  their  vicious  com- 
panions, and  have  bent  their  whole  thoughts  to  the  redemption  that 
is  in  Christ.  Those  have  been  taken  in  whom  we  should  have  least 
expected  such  feelings.  O  Lord,  continue  to  pour  out  thy  spirit 
upon  this  institution.  O  may  none  here  be  left."  "' He  that 
converteth  a  sinner  from  the  error  of  his  way,  shall  save  a  soul 
from  death.'  Who  that  is  qualified  would  not  rejoice  to  engage 
in  this  labor  of  love  !  to  convert  one  soul !  to  liberate  an  immortal 
soul  from  the  bondage  of  sin,  and  from  a  state  of  exposedness  to 
eternal  banishment  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and  to  bring 
that  soul  into  the  way  to  the  enjoyment  of  beatific  visions  forever 
and  ever  !  How  well  is  a  neighbor's  soul  worth  the  toil  of  a 
whole  life!  What  can  be  done  for  the  salvation  of  men,  that  we 
ought  not  to  do  ?  How  diligently  ought  we  to  search  for  oppor- 
tunities to  offer  admonition,  expostulation,  or  reproof;  to  bring  the 
sinner's  acts  before  the  tribunal  of  his  conscience,  and  to  show 
him  how  depraved  he  is  by  nature  and  by  practice.  A  faithful 
minister  has  the  promise  of  a  crown  of  glory  laid  up  for  him  by 
his  divine  Master.  How  glorious  to  be  the  instrument  of  the  Al- 
mighty in  effecting  the  purposes  of  his  love  ;  how  glorious  to  be 
called  a  servant  of  God,  and  to  be  engaged  in  the  same  work  with 
him  !  Never  since  the  days  of  the  apostles  was  there  more  en- 
couragement to  preach  the  gospel,  than  now."  "  On  Wednesday 
I  did  not  give  any  admonition  according  to  my  fifth  resolution." 

Thus  was  commenced  his  Christian  life  ;  with  a  formal  conse- 
cration of  himself  to  God,  with  a  series  of  written  resolutions,  and 
with  daily,  weekly,  monthly,  and  annual  seasons  for  the  review  of 
his  conduct  and  for  strict  self-examination. 

In  the  appointments  for  commencement,  when  he  took  his 
Bachelor's  degree,  an  English  oration  was  assigned  to  him,  and 
his  place  for  speaking  was  at  the  close  of  the  morning  exercises. 
"  When  his  name  was  called,"  says  a  classmate,  "  some  of  the 
audience,  wearied  by  the  length  of  the  preceding  performances, 
were  retiring.  In  his  personal  appearance  there  was  nothing  pre- 
possessing ;  but  he  had  scarcely  began  to  speak,  when  there  was 
a  marked  attention  among  those  who  were  near  him,  which  soon 
spread  through  the  house.     His  subject  was,  "  The  Execution  of 


LIFE    OF   EVARTS.  27 

the  Laws."  It  was  treated  with  such  clearness  of  statement, 
such  cogency  of  reasoning,  and  such  eloquence  and  solemnity  of 
appeal,  as  awakened  universal  admiration.* 

Among  the  characteristic  traits  with  which  he  left  college  may 
be  noticed — 

1.  His  attachment  to  his  classmates.  This  was  singularly 
strong.  He  loved  them  as  brothers  ;  and  as  long  as  he  lived,  no 
lapse  of  time,  or  change  of  place  or  of  circumstances,  obliterated 
his  affection.  If  his  memory  is  cherished,  by  those  of  them  who 
survive  him,  with  fond  regard,  it  is  not  only  a  tribute  justly  due  to 
his  many  virtues,  but  a  merited  return  for  his  own  fidelity  of  affec- 
tion. In  college  he  was  one  of  the  few  who  in  that  season  of 
literary  ambition  and  desire  for  personal  distinction,  can  receive 
praise  without  being  envied,  and  honors  without  being  grudged. 
He  was  also  one  of  the  few  who  can  receive  praise  without  self- 
flattery,  be  honored  without  becoming  proud,  and  be  conscious  of 
his  own  powers  and  attainments  without  self-conceit.  It  is  not 
wonderful,  therefore,  that  he  passed  through  college  and  left  it,  as 
he  did,  without  an  enemy,  and  that  friendships  there  contracted 
became  perpetual.  The  dispositions  thus  cherished  towards  his 
early  associates  prepared  him  to  derive  similar  advantages  and 
pleasures  from  all  the  numerous  and  diverse  connexions  with  his 
fellow-men  into  which  he  was  thrown  in  after  life.  His  fellow- 
laborers  in  the  cause  of  truth  and  righteousness  were,  like  his  fel- 
low-students, always  friends. 

2.  Another  characteristic  as  a  student  was,  his  deference  to 
superiors  in  age,  wisdom,  and  goodness,  and  his  love  of  their  so- 
ciety. He  had  none  of  that  foolishness  of  youth  which  prevents 
sittino  at  the  feet  of  age  ;  none  of  that  conceitedness  of  "little 
learning "  which  forbids  listening  with  deference  to  riper  schol- 
arship. With  an  honest  desire  for  improvement,  and  as  the  right 
of  ingenuous  youth  engaged  in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge,  he 
sought  the  acquaintance  of  men  eminent  for  wisdom  and  ability. 
He  had  none  of  that  paltry  vanity  which  seeks  for  companions 
among  whom  it  can  shine  as  the  first ;  he  never  feared  or  blushed 
to  be  among  men  who  would  eclipse  him.  In  the  choice  of  so- 
ciety, and  with  regard  to  his  bearing  in  it,  he  was  honest,  open- 

*  This  Oration  was  afterwards  published  in  the  Panoplist,  vol  ii.,  p.  318. 


2g  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

hearted,  manly.  He  knew  his  own  resources,  and  used  them 
freely  but  modestly,  —  perfectly  willing  that  others  should  know 
alike  their  extent  and  their  limits.  This  honest  openness  prepared 
him  to  turn  his  hours  of  social  intercourse  to  the  best  account. 
While  he  was  an  under-graduate  there  was  a  periodical  meeting 
of  the  literati  of  the  college,  to  which  a  select  number  of  his 
class  were  to  be,  for  the  first  time,  admitted,  and  to  which  he 
looked  forward  with  high  anticipations  of  pleasure  and  improve- 
ment. "  I  well  remember,"  says  a  classmate,  "  his  strong  ex- 
pressions of  disappointment  and  indignation  when  the  ill-timed 
levity  of  some  of  his  associates  prevented  the  benefit  which  might 
have  been  expected  from  such  society." 

3.  Again,  his  mind  was  always  awake  to  what  passed  around 
him,  and  industriously  gathered  materials  for  future  use,  from  every 
quarter.  His  journals  and  note-books  are  replete  with  the  fruits 
of  this  activity.  The  remarks  of  his  instructors,  especially  those 
of  Dr.  Dwight  ;  the  exercises  read  by  his  classmates,  and  the 
disputes  held  by  them  before  the  tutors  and  the  President ;  public 
occurrences  ;  his  hours  of  social  intercourse  and  relaxation,  as  well 
as  his  studies  and  miscellaneous  reading,  —  were  all  alike  laid  under 
contribution,  and  made  subservient  to  the  high  purposes  of  self- 
improvement  and  future  usefulness. 

4.  His  habit  of  calling  himself  to  strict  account  at  regular  and 
short  intervals,  is  another  point  that  deserves  remark.  He  acted 
in  the  spirit  of  that  Scripture,  —  If  we  would  judge  ourselves,  we 
should  not  be  judged.  In  his  pecuniary  accounts  he  was  equally 
strict.  He  never  avoided  any  expenditures  that  were  proper,  and 
always  made  liberal  provision  of  conveniences  and  comforts  both 
for  himself  and  his  friends  ;  but  every  cent  was  rigidly  accounted 
for.  This  was  habitual  from  his  boyhood.  To  secure  more  per- 
fectly the  object  of  it,  he  adopted  while  in  college  the  practice  of 
a  careful  monthly  examination  of  his  accounts,  when  every  item 
of  expenditure  was  brought  under  review  and  criticised.  On  leav- 
i  ng  college,  the  whole  expenditures  of  the  four  years  were  faith- 
fully reviewed.  The  items  were  arranged  under  distinct  heads, 
with  remarks  upon  each.  The  habits  thus  cultivated  were  of  in- 
estimable value  to  him  afterwards,  especially  in  connexion  with 
various  religious  charities. 


CHAPTER  II. 


LIFE  AT  PEACHAM  AND  NEW   HAVEN,  ISOS— ISIO. 


After  leaving  college,  Mr.  Evarts  spent  a  few  months  at  his 
paternal  home,  employed  chiefly  in  classical  and  other  studies  and 
in  writing,  —  his  health,  as  it  had  been  for  a  year  or  two,  not  vig- 
orous but  comfortable.  His  reading  was,  to  considerable  extent, 
in  books  of  experimental  religion.  His  plans  for  future  employ- 
ment were  not  definitely  settled  ;  and  he  felt  the  natural  anxieties 
of  a  young  man  thrown  upon  his  own  resources,  without  funds, 
and  with  a  constitution  too  feeble  for  hard  service  in  any  lucrative 
business.  From  his  friends  he  saw  that  he  had  received  all  the 
pecuniary  aid  that  he  could  expect  or  ask.  Henceforth,  said  he, 
"  I  must  bustle  my  way,  somehow  or  other,"  possibly  not  quite 
aware  how  poorly  qualified  he  was  to  make  his  way  by  dint  of 
bustling. 

"  I  intend,"  he  wrote  to  a  friend,  December  1,  "  God  willing, 
to  return  to  Connecticut  this  winter,  where  I  hope  to  engage  in 
some  employment  by  which  I  can  support  myself  and  be  in  the 
way  of  acquiring  professional  knowledge.  I  thank  you  for  re- 
minding me  of  the  affecting  scenes  which  we  witnessed  at  college 
last  spring  and  summer.  O  that  we  may  always  keep  in  remem- 
brance the  marked  attention,  the  indescribable  solemnity,  and  the 
deep  concern  which  then  prevailed,  as  well  as  the  characters  of 
those  who  were  awakened  and  the  solid  comforts  which  we  hope 
they  received.     While  we  keep  these  things  in  view  we  cannot 


30  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

but  be  admonished  and  guarded  against  sin,  since  we  have  seen 
so  clear  a  manifestation  of  the  power  of  God." 

The  plan  here  mentioned  was,  however,  soon  laid  aside,  in  con- 
sequence of  an  application  which  he  received  from  the  Trustees 
of  the  Caledonia  County  Grammar  School,  at  Peacham,  Vermont, 
to  take  charge  of  that  Institution  as  Principal.  He  accepted  the 
proposal,  and  entered  upon  his  new  duties  early  in  April.  In  this 
employment,  and  as  a  member  of  the  family  of  the  Rev.  Leonard 
Worcester,  the  revered  Pastor  of  the  Congregational  Church  in 
Peacham,  he  spent  a  year,  faithful  as  an  instructor,  and  greatly 
adorning  the  religious  profession  that  he  had  made.  "  Though 
he  was  usually  quite  cheerful,"  says  Mr.  Worcester,  "  his  deport- 
ment was  remarkably  serious  and  devout ;  and  his  attention  to 
the  duties  of  religion,  — to  those  of  the  closet,  I  had  every  reason 
to  believe,  as  well  as  to  those  of  a  social  and  public  nature,  inva- 
riable. The  Bible  he  studied  much  and  with  great  apparent 
delight.  He  was,  at  that  early  period  of  his  Christian  course,  re- 
markable for  uniformity  of  character.  At  all  times,  and  in 
every  place,  he  appeared  to  be  the  same  humble  and  exemplary 
Christian.  My  opportunities  of  meeting  with  him,  after  he  left 
my  family,  were  not  very  frequent ;  but  from  the  short  interviews 
with  him  which  I  did  enjoy,  my  mind  was  deeply  impressed  with 
what  seemed  to  me  the  same  uniformity  in  his  character,  which  I 
had  noticed,  with  much  pleasure,  so  long  before.  Allowing  only 
for  his  advanced  attainments,  such  as  I  found  him,  from  time  to 
time,  at  the  age  of  from  thirty  to  forty-five,  or  more,  such,  it  al- 
ways seemed  to  me,  I  had  known  him  well,  I  think  at  about  the 
age  of  twenty-two.  This  has  appeared  to  me  the  more  remark- 
able, as,  while  he  was  here,  the  state  of  religion  among  this  peo- 
ple, and  in  all  this  region,  was  lamentably  low.  Among  the 
youth,  it  had  almost  no  existence.  As  a  young  Christian  he 
stood  alone.  Of  the  somewhat  less  than  fifty,  who  were  then 
members  of  this  church,  I  think  only  two  were  under  the  age  of 
about  thirty  years ;  and  those  two  were  several  years  older  than 
himself,  and  were  married  persons.  Hence,  from  persons  of  his 
own  age  he  could  derive  no  assistance  in  his  Christian  course. 
For  this  reason  he  associated  but  little  with  such  persons,  as  he 
greatly  preferred  the  society  of  those  whom  he  esteemed  as  the 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  3| 

people  of  God,  though  much  farther  advanced  in  years.  It  was 
a  time,  too,  when  most  of  the  young  people  in  this  place,  and  I 
believe  in  most  other  places,  even  in  New  England,  indulged 
themselves  very  much  in  various  vain  amusements  ;  and  particu- 
larly, those  of  the  ball-room.  And,  however  strange  it  may  ap- 
pear to  Christians  of  your  age,  and  younger,  it  is  nevertheless  true, 
that,  at  that  time,  such  amusements  were  somewhat  more  than  tol- 
erated, by  many  professors  of  religion,  and  by  some  highly  esteem- 
ed ministers  of  the  gospel,  reputed  orthodox.  But  against  these 
things,  Mr.  Evarts  took,  unhesitatingly,  a  decided  stand.  I  had 
previously  borne  my  testimony  against  them,  and  excited  some 
feeling  on  the  subject,  and  considerable  discussion.  In  this,  Mr. 
Evarts  became  an  efficient  helper. 

He  was  considered  a  good  Instructor,  and  we  should  gladly  have 
continued  him  longer  in  the  school,  had  it  suited  his  convenience. 
The  uniformity  in  his  Christian  character,  of  which  I  have  spoken, 
manifested  itself  in  his  school,  as  well  as  elsewhere.  He  appear- 
ed to  feel  a  tender  solicitude  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  his  pupils, 
as  well  as  for  their  improvement  in  literature.  I  have  reason  to 
believe  it  was  his  constant  aim,  both  by  suitable  instruction,  and 
by  his  own  Christian  example,  to  impress  divine  things  on  their 
minds.  Occasionally,  he  devoted  the  afternoon  of  Saturday  to 
religious  exercises  with  them. 

You  are  aware,  my  dear  Sir,  that  various  plans  for  doing  good, 
in  the  active  and  efficient  promotion  of  which  that  truly  Christian 
and  conscientious  philanthropy  which  developed  itself  so  nobly  in 
the  after  life  of  Mr.  Evarts,  were  scarcely  in  operation  at  all  two  and 
thirty  years  ago.  Even  then,  however,  Mr.  Evarts  constantly 
manifested,  that  it  was  his  "  heart's  desire  and  prayer  to  God,"  for 
others,  that  they  might  obtain  salvation.  He  expressed  much  anxi- 
ety for  the  salvation  of  beloved  relatives,  and  particularly  for  his 
beloved  father,  then  advancing  in  years,  without  giving  any  evi- 
dence of  an  interest  in  Christ.  In  our  religious  conferences,  then 
attended,  however,  almost  only  by  professors  of  religion,  he  was 
always  active,  and  showed  how  deeply  he  felt  for  those  who  had 
no  anxiety  for  themselves. 

In  my  family  he  was  always  a  pleasant  companion  ;  free  and 
familiar,  and  instructive  in  conversation.     It  was  evidently  his  de- 


32  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

sire  and  his  aim,  that  conversation  might  be  on  some  topic,  that  could 
be  turned  in  some  way,  to  good  account.  Indeed  I  think  scarcely 
any  individual  of  my  acquaintance,  whether  young  or  old,  has  ever 
appeared  to  comply,  more  carefully  than  he  did,  with  this  exhorta- 
tion of  the  Apostle,  "  Let  no  corrupt  communication  proceed  out 
of  your  mouth,  but  that  which  is  good  to  the  use  of  edifying,  that 
it  may  minister  grace  to  the  hearers." 

His  Diary,  and  Letters  written  during  this  period,  show  what 
were  his  habits,  and  especially  the  spiritual  discipline  to  which  he 
subjected  himself. 

Lord's  Day,  April  10.  It  is  more  than  a  year  since  I  united 
with  a  Christian  Church, — since  I  gave  myself  in  covenant  to 
God,  and  promised  to  renounce  worldly  vanities.  How  little  have 
I  served  God — how  much  have  I  sinned  !  Let  me  think  over  the 
various  kinds  of  wickedness  that  I  have  committed.  Let  me  re- 
member with  strong  crying  and  tears,  my  levity,  my  lukewarm- 
ness,  my  obduracy  of  heart,  my  profane  and  unprofitable  thoughts, 
my  yielding  to  temptation,  my  forgetfulness  of  God,  my  ingrati- 
tude, my  selfishness,  my  worldly  ambition,  my  fearing  the  censure 
of  men  more  than  the  disapprobation  of  God,  my  neglect  of  the 
Sabbath,  and  many  other  sins.  Let  me  also  remember  my  un- 
kindness  to  friends, — my  parents,  and  others. 

19.  Saw  an  old  acquaintance, — an  infidel.  I  know  not  wheth- 
er I  did  my  duty  effectually.     Would  to  God  he  were  converted ! 

23.  Made  some  very  serious  observations  to  my  school  on  the 
subject  of  religion, — taking  occasion  from  the  catechism  which  I 
was  teaching.  How  unworthy  am  T  to  advise  others  to  engage  in 
religion.  Perhaps  I  introduced  reflections  too  solemn.  I  hope 
however  it  was  with  solemnity  of  demeanor. 

30.  To  day  I  spoke  freely  to  my  school  on  the  subject  of  re- 
ligion. It  appears  to  me  that  it  would  be  delightful,  unspeakably 
delightful,  to  serve  God  without  sin. 

May  1 ,  Lord's  Day.  Looked  over  the  covenant  which  I  enter- 
ed into  with  my  classmates.  Felt  warmed  in  praying  for  them. 
Also  reviewed  my  conduct  for  the  month  past.  Although  I  have 
lived  little  to  God,  yet  I  have  enjoyed  something  in  attempting  to 
pray.  Secret  prayer  is  a  pleasant  duty  to  me.  In  my  school  I 
have  sometimes  enjoyed  myself  in   prayer.     The  Lord  make  me 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  33 

more  and  more  engaged  in  his  service.  In  the  morning  enjoyed 
contemplating  the  glory  of  the  Gospel.  It  appeared  to  me  that 
there  was  an  irresistible  argument  in  proof  of  our  Savior  being  a 
teacher  sent  from  God,  from  the  things  that  he  taught,  and  parti- 
cularly from  the  parable  of  the  Pharisee  and  the  Publican,  which 
I  had  then  in  my  mind.  To  day  have  enjoyed  something  in  the 
service  of  God,  I  hope.  I  feel  it  impossible  to  do  any  thing  as  I 
ought,  without  divine  assistance. 

2.  This  morning  was  worldly-minded.  I  see  the  dreadful  pow- 
er which  sin  has  over  me.  Am  much  exercised  in  mind  with  re- 
spect to  a  profession,  and  to  a  livelihood.  Felt  in  the  afternoon 
as  if  I  could  most  gladly  hail  Christ  as  a  Savior  from  sin. 

4.  At  the  closing  prayer  in  my  school,  I  thought  I  could  cry, 
God  be  merciful  to  us  sinners.  Of  what  immense  value  is  an  im- 
mortal soul  ! 

5.  Some  part  of  the  day  could  not  realize  the  things  of  eternity. 
They  seemed  to  me  as  an  idle  tale.  Sometimes  they  seem  just  as 
real  as  any  thing  in  this  world.     Was  rather  too  severe  in  school. 

9.  Was  afraid  God  would  take  from  me  a  sense  of  my  sins. 
During  the  day  felt  carnal,  sold  under  sin  :  in  the  evening  was 
warmed  towards  God.  My  thoughts  are  too  apt  to  wander  at 
family  prayers.  The  Lord  deliver  me  from  sin.  It  seems  to  me 
that  I  once  in  a  while  feel  something  in  my  heart  that  ought  to 
make  me  tremble.     O  God,  subdue  this  stubborn  heart. 

13.  Attended  a  lecture  preparatory  to  the  Sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  Supper.  My  thoughts  are  vile  and  wandering,  my  heart 
cold  and  dull,  my  duties  frequently  lifeless,  and  I  seem  to  be  blind, 
groping  about  for  some  one  to  lead  me.  The  Lord  make  me  such 
as  he  would  have  me  to  be  1 

15.  Lord's  Day.  I  again  partook  of  the  Sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  and  I  think  found  it  for  my  comfort.  I  feel  in- 
wardly strengthened  to  make  the  inquiry  always  when  I  am  about 
to  do  any  thing,  whether  it  will  be  to  the  glory  of  God. 

no.  In  the  morning  had  a  turn  of  infidelity,  i.  e.  ever;  thing 
about  religion  appeared  strange,  and  especially  that  the  Son  of 
God  should  have  come  into  this  corner  of  the  universe  to  save  such 
wretched  creatures  as  I  am.  Had  some  sense  of  my  sinfulness. 
My  great  wish  is  that  I  may  have  that  love  which  casteth  out  fear, 
5 


34  LIFE   OF   EVARTS. 

and  that  I  may  sin  no  more.  I  do  not  know  that  I  complied  with 
my  fifth  recommendation  yesterday.  In  my  leisure  moments  I 
think  over  the  sins  with  which  my  whole  life  has  been  filled.  They 
appear  dreadful. 

22.  Lord's  Day.  Beautiful  weather.  If  any  outward  object 
can  excite  the  mind  to  devotion,  the  appearance  of  nature  at  this 
time  must.  Hope  I  felt  some  love  to  God  in  morning  devotions. 
I  feel  disposed  to  pray  for  my  friends  and  my  enemies,  and  for 
the  enemies  of  religion.  I  feel  disposed  to  plead  with  God  that  I 
may  not  be  left  to  my  own  dark  heart ;  that  I  may  not  be  troubled 
with  sceptical  delusions.  I  have  no  doubt  that,  if  God  should 
leave  me  to  my  own  dark  heart,  to  my  own  blind  mind,  and  to  my 
own  debased  and  depraved  faculties,  I  should  become  an  infidel  in 
principle  and  an  atheist  in  practice.  Oh  how  I  ought  to  cry  to 
God  continually  to  be  delivered  from  the  load  of  wickedness  un- 
der which  I  labor  ;  to  fight,  and  strive,  and  pray  to  escape  tempta- 
tion, to  lie  low  in  the  dust,  to  bridle  my  tongue  ;  to  animate,  en- 
courage, reprove,  and  strengthen  Christians  ;  to  alarm  sinners  ;  to 
beware  of  ambition,  avarice,  and  carnal  lusts  which  war  against 
the  soul ;  to  mourn  because  of  my  sins  ;  to  visit  Mount  Calvary, 
and  weep  there ;  to  see  him  whom  I  have  pierced  and  mourn  be- 
cause of  him.  O  Lord,  save  me  from  sin — save  me  from  evil 
thoughts — and  uncharitableness  ;  make  me  thine  !  make  me  thine  ! 
I  must  lie  upon  the  mercy  of  God  ;  for  a  man  who  is  not  worth  a 
farthing  cannot  pay  ten  thousand  talents.  I  think  it  is  delightful 
to  lie  on  the  mercy  of  God. 

25.  Sometimes  I  look  back  upon  my  sins  with  horror,  and 
sometimes  I  cannot  discover  them  at  all. 

28.  Had  some  sense  of  my  vileness  in  the  morning.  Was 
struck  with  the  inconceivable  importance  of  an  immortal  soul. 
One  soul  is  of  more  importance  than  all  the  worldly  happiness  of 
all  men — incalculably  more.  Oh  that  I  could  reflect  feelingly  on 
the  amazing  responsibility  which  hangs  upon  every  action  that  I 
perform.  Oh  for  that  love  which  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law,  which 
purifieth  the  heart  and  overcometh  the  world. 

June  3.  Had  a  sceptical  turn  just  at  night.  When  I  came  to 
pray  in  secret  it  vanished. 

7.     Received  letters  from  two  of  my  classmates.     They  write 


LIFE    OF   EVARTS.  35 

tenderly  on  religion.     The  Lord  be  with   them,  and  deliver  them 
from  all  their  enemies. 

8.  Heard  of  an  instance  of  gross  transgression  by  one  of  my 
pupils.  I  pray  God  he  may  be  humbled  for  it,  and  that  his  soul 
may  not  go  on  to  destruction. 

15.  Had  a  sort  of  a  sceptical  turn.  Every  thing  appeared 
strange ;  for  instance,  the  salvation  of  men,  the  damnation  of  the 
impenitent,  he.  Felt  indisposed  towards  instructing  in  the  cate- 
chism— cold  and  dull,  and  unprofitable. 

16.  I  have  concluded  it  is  best  to  draw  up  a  plan  for  the  re- 
gulation of  my  conduct  for  three  months  to  come.  I  wish  to  be 
regulated  by  it  so  far  as  I  shall  find  it  salutary  only. 

Here  follows  a  minute  plan  for  all  the  hours  of  the  day,  for  the 
observance  of  the  Sabbath,  &c.,  ending  with  a  few  special  cautions. 

Pauca  prcecipue  cavenda.  Taking  up  a  book  to  read  without 
design  to  prom.ote  some  useful  purpose.  Sitting  down  in  idleness. 
Idle  talking.  Spending  much  time  in  reading  newspapers.  Be- 
ing much  engaged  in  worldly  things.  Indulging  impure  thoughts. 
Thinking  too  much  of  my  weak  constitution. 

I  beseech  the  glorious  God  to  have  mercy  upon  me  for  his 
name's  sake  ;  to  bless  me  in  the  three  months  to  come,  if  he  should 
see  fit  to  continue  me  on  earth ;  to  make  me  walk  in  the  light  of 
his  countenance  ;  to  save  me  form  sins  ;  to  draw  me  near  to  him- 
self by  the  cords  of  love  ;  to  make  me  submissive  to  his  will  in 
all  things.  O  Lord,  guide  me  into  all  evangelical  truth.  Oh  save 
me — save  me,  for  thy  mercy's  sake  ! 

17.  At  evening  prayers  it  appeared  delightful  to  pray  for 
my  friends,  my  parent,  my  brother  and  sisters,  my  classmates,  for 
sinners,  for  infidels,  for  the  heathen,  for  the  church  of  God.  I  do 
not  recollect  that  I  complied  with  my  fifth  recommendation  yes- 
terday. 

July  9.  This  day  I  set  apart  to  consider  my  duty  with  respect 
to  a  profession.  Wrote  a  considerable  part  of  the  day  on  the  sub- 
ject. Oh  that  I  may  spend  the  remainder  of  a  life  begun  in  so 
much  sin,  in  the  service  of  God. 

In  regard  to  this  difficult  subject  of  a  profession,  he  writes  to  a 
friend,  May  21,  "I  am  in  statu  quo; — pretty  much  convinced, 


36  LIFE   OF   EVARTS. 

however,  that  my  health  will  not  allow  me  to  preach.  My 
prayer  is,  that  God  will  give  me  grace  to  serve  him  in  some 
way  accepiably,  for  his  name's  sake."  Again  to  another  friend, 
a  few  weeks  later  : — "  I  have  been  much  in  doubt  respecting  my 
duty  as  to  a  profession.  My  religious  friends  advise  me  to  preach. 
But  I  extremely  doubt  whether  my  health  will  ever  permit.  It 
seems  now  as  if  it  would  be  almost  a  natural  impossibility  for  me 
to  go  through  with  the  labors  of  the  Sabbath  ;  and  1  do  not  know 
that  I  have  any  reason  to  suppose  that  I  shall  be  essentially  strong- 
er three  years  hence  than  now.  If  I  only  knew  the  path  of  duty, 
I  ihinli  it  would  be  pleasant  to  walk  in  it.  Of  late  I  have  thought 
much  of  the  vast  disproportion  between  time  and  eternity.  It 
astonishes,  confounds,  overwhelms  me.  Only  think  of  the  value 
of  one  soul.  '  What  manner  of  persons  ought  we  to  be  in  all 
holy  conversation  and  godliness,  looking  for  and  hastening  unto  the 
coming  of  the  day  of  God  !'  When  I  see  a  large  number  of  peo- 
ple together  I  cannot  but  reflect, — what  an  assemblage  of  immor- 
tal beings  there  are  before  me  !  In  almost  every  company  we  see, 
probably  some  will  be  made  trophies  of  victorious  grace  in  the 
day  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  some  will  finally  reject  the  counsel 
of  God." 

These  extracts  abundantly  confirm  what  Mr.  Worcester  says  of 
the  uncommon  spirituality  of  Mr.  Evarts, — uncommon  certainly  in 
a  young  man  of  his  age  and  in  his  circumstances.  It  was  to  him 
an  anxious  as  well  as  a  laborious  year.  The  duties  of  a  school 
like  his  must  have  borne  heavily  upon  one  at  once  so  inexperienc- 
ed and  so  conscientious  ;  while  with  a  feeble  constitution  and  with- 
out pecuniary  resources,  the  fortunes  of  another  had  become  linked 
with  his  own,  by  a  matrimonial  engagement,  and  the  important 
question  of  a  profession  was  still  undecided.  But  none  of  these 
things  prevented  the  faithful  and  systematic  watch  over  his  own 
heart,  and  a  persevering  endeavor  to  form  an  elevated  Christian 
character.  With  his  clear  conception  of  the  law  of  holiness,  his 
thoughts  may  have  been  employed  too  much  upon  himself  and  too 
little  upon  his  Savior.  Necessary  as  constant  and  strict  self-exam- 
ination is  in  the  Christian  life,  it  is  yet  a  life  of  faith  in  the  Son  of 
God.  It  is  sustained  by  the  bread  which  came  down  from  Heaven. 
It  is  by  looking  unto  Jesus  that  the  Christian  becomes  transformed 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  37 

into  the  same  image.  It  is  a  fact,  however,  that  eminent  Chris- 
tians often,  if  not  generally,  in  the  early  part  of  their  religious  life, 
pass  through  a  season  of  similar  discipline.  There  seems  also  to 
be  some  true  analogy  in  this  respect  between  the  first  entrance  upon 
a  Christian  life  and  subsequent  progress  in  it, — between  the  pro- 
cess that  ends  in  the  new  birth  and  the  progress  of  sanctification. 
In  both  alike,  the  soul  looks  to  the  Savior  because  impelled  by  a 
sense  of  its  own  state  and  wants.  Self-knowledge  is  the  first  gift 
of  the  awakening  Spirit ;  and  by  a  just  analogy  the  same  Spirit, 
in  sanctifying  the  heart,  might  be  expected  often  to  move  first  in 
the  same  direction.  Few  men  have  had  a  more  cheerful  faith, 
looking  unto  Jesus,  than  Mr.  Evarts  habitually  cherished  in  sub- 
sequent life. 

Facts  that  show  the  tender  solicitude  and  faithfulness  of  Mr. 
Evarts,  as  a  Christian  instructor,  are  incidentally  mentioned  in  the 
above  extracts.  Among  his  papers  are  the  subjects  of  the  ad- 
dresses made  to  his  school,  sometimes  with  a  full  outline  of  the 
topics  introduced.  He  prepared  himself  for  such  duties  with  great 
care,  and  labored  with  prayerful  earnestness  to  bring  to  repentance 
those  who  were  committed  to  his  charge.  In  school,  and  espe- 
cially at  the  devotional  exercises  with  which  it  was  daily  opened 
and  closed,  he  was  watchful  over  his  spirit  and  manner,  lest  he 
should  offend  God  by  cold  formality,  and  lest  something  should 
be  observed  in  his  demeanor  or  fall  from  his  lips,  that  would  leave 
an  injurious  impression  on  the  young  minds  around  him. 

The  question  of  a  profession  was  not  decided  till  after  much 
prayerful  deliberation,  nor  without  difficulty.  A  gentlemen  who 
enjoyed  his  friendship  and  confidence  in  a  very  high  degree  at  the 
time,  gives  the  following  account  of  the  grounds  on  which  the  de- 
cision was  finally  made  : 

"From  the  known  activity  and  zeal  of  Mr.  Evarts  in  religion, 
and  his  many  qualifications  for  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  his  friends 
had  never  supposed  that  he  would  think  of  any  other  profession. 
It  was  with  surprise,  therefore,  that  they  first  learned  his  determi- 
nation to  study  law.  This  step,  however,  he  did  not  take  without 
a  most  serious  and  conscientious  regard  to  duty,  and  with  a  view 
to  his  greatest  usefulness  as  a  Christian.  When  he  left  college,  it 
was  his  expectation   to  settle  in  the  State  of  Vermont.     Certain 


38 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 


things  seemed  to  him  to  render  this  measure  indispensable.  At 
that  time  religion  was  at  a  very  low  ebb  in  that  section  of  our 
country.  There  were  few  men  there  in  political  life,  and  espe- 
cially at  the  bar,  of  a  religious  character  ;  and  very  many  of  them 
were  openly  and  decidedly  hostile  to  the  truths  of  divine  revela- 
tion. The  influence  which  they  exerted  on  society  at  large  was 
most  unfavorable  to  the  cause  of  Christianity,  and  seriously  im- 
peded the  labors  of  Christian  ministers.  Under  these  circum- 
stances Mr.  Evarts  really  believed  that  he  could  better  subserve 
the  cause  of  Christ,  in  Vermont,  as  a  practitioner  at  the  bar,  then 
as  a  preacher.  In  this  belief  he  resolved  to  study  law,  and  as  a 
consistent  Christian  lawyer,  to  combat  ignorance,  prejudice,  and 
error,  wherever  met,  and  to  promote  a  happy  religious  influence 
through  that  State.  He  thought  that  one  truly  pious  lawyer,  a  man 
of  talents,  and  thoroughly  educated  in  his  profession,  would  com- 
mand more  respect,  and  influence  there,  than  many  clergymen. 
As  he  aimed  at  high  attainments  in  all  things,  so  here,  too,  he  aimed 
at  nothing  less.  He  intended  to  spare  no  pains  in  his  professional 
studies,  and  to  qualify  himself  for  all  the  usefulness  in  his  power. 
That  he  acted  honestly  in  this  determination,  there  is  no  question  ; 
whether  he  decidedly  correctly,  may  admit  of  a  doubt,  but  it  is 
one  I  do  not  wish  to  solve.  Could  he  have  foreseen  the  happy 
change  Vv'hich  was  soon  to  take  place  in  that  State,  in  regard  to 
those  things  which  then  pained  his  feelings,  and  without  such  in- 
strumentality as  he  contemplated,  I  have  reason  to  think  that  his 
choice  of  a  profession  might  have  been  different.  This,  however, 
is  a  point  which  I  will  not  attempt  to  decide.  I  know  that  he 
firmly  held  the  opinion  that  a  pious  lawyer,  with  the  right  talents 
and  perseverance,  could  render  most  important  service  to  the 
cause  of  religion,  anywhere,  and  that  he  seriously  debated  in  his 
own  mind  whether  it  was  not  the  imperious  duty  of  some  young 
men,  of  education,  and  piety,  and  talents,  to  engage  in  the  pro- 
fession of  law,  with  a  view  to  their  most  efficient  usefulness  to 
mankind.  At  that  time  the  cause  of  foreign  missions  had  not 
been  started  ;  no  way  of  access  to  the  heathen  had  been  made 
known  ;  the  sympathies  of  the  Christian  community  had  not  then 
been  aroused  in  their  behalf ;  and  the  imperative  commands  of 
Christ  to  send  them  the  gospel  had  been   but  faintly  considered, 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  39 

and  more  faintly  still  obeyed.  The  paramount  importance,  too, 
o( preaching  the  gospel,  beyond  all  other  means  of  converting  men 
to  God,  and  of  benefitting  their  souls,  had  been  strangely  over- 
looked, while  secondary  means  had  been  exalted  far  beyond  their 
value.  It  ought,  therefore,  less  to  excite  the  wonder  of  those, 
who  are  now  better  enlightened,  that  such  a  man  as  Mr.  Evarts, 
placed  in  his  circumstances,  should  have  formed  the  conclusion 
which  he  did  with  regard  to  a  profession.  As  soon  as  the  cause 
of  missions  was  brought  forward,  we  know  how  instantly  and 
earnestly  his  feelings  were  enlisted  on  its  side.  We  know  how 
promptly  and  how  effectually  he  co-operated  in  all  the  benevo- 
lent movements  of  Christians,  as  they  were  successively  made ; 
and  how  cheerfully  when  duty  seemed  to  call,  and  the  time  to 
arrive,  he  relinquished  a  profession  which  he  had  so  deliberately 
chosen,  and  in  which  he  had  commenced  a  promising  career. 
These  several  considerations  will  lead  us  to  believe  that,  in  his 
orio-inal  choice  of  a  profession,  as  well  as  in  other  matters,  he 
acted  conscientiously  ;  and  that  the  correctness  of  his  judgment  in 
this  case,  is  not  so  questionable  as  an  imperfect  acquaintance  with 
the  actual  state  of  things,  and  with  the  reasons  and  motives  which 
governed  him,  might  lead  us  to  suppose." 

In  the  following  letter  to  his  friend  Swan  we  have  a  full  state- 
ment of  the  difficulties  with  which  he  was  beset  in  this  matter  : 

TO    MR.    RO SWELL    R.    SWAN. 

Peacham,  December  5lh,  1S03. 

Your  friendly  letter  of  November  10th  was  received  on  the 
26th  of  the  same  month.  I  am  obliged  to  you  sincerely  for  the 
animadversions  which  it  contains  on  the  subject  of  a  profession, 
though  my  mind  is  no  more  settled  than  it  has  been  for  a  year  or 
more.  Indeed  this  subject  has  given  me  no  small  degree  of  dis- 
tress; and  1  see  not  the  least  prospect  of  ever  knowing  my  duty 
in  the  case.  Perhaps  it  is  right  that  for  my  sinfulness,  I  should 
be  left  in  perpetual  obscurity  and  darkness. 

Those  who  are  opposed  to  my  studying  law,  stand  on  ground 
altogether  untenable  in  my  opinion.  The  arguments  which  they 
use  would  operate  to  exclude  every  man  from  that  profession.  If 
it  is  not  right  for  a  good  man  to  study  law,  it  certainly  cannot  be 


40  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

right  for  any  man,  as  all  men  ought  undoubtedly  to  be  good,  and 
as  a  wicked  man  is  by  no  means  justifiable  in  doing  anything 
which  a  good  man  might  not  to  do.  The  law  then  must  be  given 
up  as  a  cage  of  unclean  birds,  or  collection  of  harpies  polluting 
everything  by  their  impure  touch.  But  do  the  persons  who  come 
to  this  conclusion,  call  to  mind  that  almost  all  our  laws  come  into 
existence  by  means  of  lawyers,  and  that  this  will  probably  always 
be  the  case,  the  world  remaining  as  it  is  ;  and,  moreover,  that  all 
who  decide  upon  laws  are,  and  ought  to  be  lawyers ;  that  is, 
they  ought  to  have  faithfully  and  diligently  studied  the  laws  upon 
which  they  decide  ;  and  this  includes  all  that  I  mean  by  the  word 
lawyer.  So  true  is  this,  that  1  never  heard  of  a  great  judge  who 
was  not  a  lawyer  ;  and  1  believe  it  to  be  impossible,  in  the  nature 
of  things,  that  there  should  be  one,  unless  he  were  directly  in- 
spired. For  my  part  I  do  not  know  of  any  Judge  of  any  impor- 
tant Court  in  the  United  States,  who  has  not  been  a  practising 
attorney.  Then  my  opponents  must  say,  that  all  our  Judges  who 
are  to  decide  in  cases  of  life  and  death,  in  cases  of  oppression, 
cruelty  and  extortion,  in  cases  of  religious  liberty,  (whenever  per- 
secution shall  exist  ;)  that  all  who  are  to  legislate  in  matters  of 
intricacy  and  importance  ;  and  that  all  who  are  to  wield  the  Ex- 
ecutive power  of  an  extensive  and  numerous  people,  ought  to  be 
taken  from  this  cage  of  unclean  birds,  this  banditti  from  whom 
every  good  man  ought  to  keep  himself  at  a  safe  distance.  I  can 
hardly  conceive  of  a  greater  inconsistency.  The  Bible  abun- 
dantly establishes  the  propriety  of  having  legislators,  judges  and 
officers  to  carry  the  laws  into  execution.  And  you  know  it  is  a 
maxim  of  common  sense,  as  well  as  of  law,  that  when  anything  is 
declared  to  be  lawful,  all  other  things  which  are  necessary  to  the 
existence  of  that  thing  are  declared  to  be  lawful  also.  Thus 
when  God  sanctions  the  appointment  of  judges,  he  must  sanction 
everything  which  is  necessary  to  the  proper  qualification  of  these 
judges.  The  Old  Testament  is  full  of  examples  and  precepts 
tending  to  show  how  good  magistrates  are  made  instrumental  of 
building  up  and  extending  the  church,  and  evil  ones  of  destroying 
and  wasting  it. 

But,  perhaps,  some  one  will  say,  that  in   the   present   situation 
of  this  guilty  world,  it  is  best  for  Christians  to  stand   aloof  from 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 


41 


the  concerns  of  it  altogether,  and  to  leave  them  to  the  direction  of 
Satan  and  his  satellites.  But  is  this  so  ?  If  all  the  restraints 
which  the  civil  law  imposes  were  taken  off  throughout  New  Eng- 
land, what  would  be  the  situation  of  Christianity  three  years  hence  ? 
With  respect  to  engaging  in  any  business,  it  has  ever  been  my 
opinion,  at  least  ever  since  my  thoughts  have  been  in  any  consid- 
erable degree  occupied  by  religion,  that  the  welfare  of  immortal 
souls  ought  to  be  the  ultimate  object  of  every  Christian's  labors  ; 
and,  consequently,  that  every  Christian  ought  to  make  it  the  busi- 
ness not  only  of  his  life,  but  of  every  day  and  every  hour,  to  be 
employed  in  such  a  manner  as  he  shall  judge  most  conducive  to 
the  accomplishment  of  this  glorious  design.  This  obligation  does 
not  lie  upon  a  minister,  or  upon  a  person  qualified  to  be  a  minister, 
exclusively,  but  it  is  binding  upon  every  humble  laborer,  upon  every 
mother  of  a  family, — in  short,  upon  every  Christian,  and  upon  every 
man.  I  should  not  have  mentioned  this,  but  it  is  a  common  notion 
among  mankind,  that  it  belongs  to  ministers  to  take  care  of  the  souls 
of  men,  and  that  other  persons  have  no  concern  in  the  business. 
However,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  declaring,  that  I  can  see  no  use- 
fulness, nor  amiableness,  in  conduct  which  does  not  tend  either 
imriiediately  or  remotely  to  the  everlasting  happiness  of  men. 

But  I  do  believe  that  many  laymen  are  as  useful  in  the  Chris- 
tian cause  as  many  faithful  ministers,  or  as  they  themselves  would 
have  been  had  they  been  ministers.  For  aught  that  I  can  see,  a 
Washington  by  his  wisdom  may  have  saved  a  nation  from  domes- 
tic wars,  which  would  have  brought  in  their  course  every  crime 
that  can  deform  the  human  character,  and  filled  the  land  with  blas- 
phemy and  murder.  So  that,  supposing  him  to  have  acted  upon 
motives  of  obedience  to  God,  I  see  not  why  he  may  not  be  ranked 
among  the  wise,  between  whom  and  those  who  have  turned  many 
to  righteousness,  there  seems  to  be  a  very  close  connection.  In- 
deed, I  see  not  why  he  may  not  as  really  have  been  instrumental 
in  saving  souls,  though  not  so  immediately,  as  an  Edwards  or  a 
Dwight,  Why  may  not  a  Kennicott,  supposing  him  never  to 
have  preached,  have  subserved  the  cause  of  religion  as  much  as  a 
Doddridge,  a  Fuller,  or  a  Porteus  ?  Why  may  not  a  Sir  William 
Jones  have  been  as  really  and  as  effectually  a  co-worker  with 
Christ,  as  any  minister  of  the  gospel  in  Christendom  ?  A  sea-cap- 
6 


42  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

tain  is  a  character  which  promises  as  little  of  piety  as  almost  any 
in  the  world  ;  yet,  from  what  I  have  heard  of  Captain  Wilson,  I 
am  ready  to  conclude  that  he  has  been  as  serviceable  to  the  mis- 
sions sent  to  the  heathen  from  England,  as  any  clergyman  in 
Great  Britain.  In  short,  I  cannot  see  that  it  savors  less  of  humil- 
ity, of  attachment  to  the  Christian  cause,  or  of  love  to  the  souls 
of  men,  to  talk  of  walking  in  the  steps  of  Moses,  of  Joshua,  of 
David,  or  of  Daniel,  who  were  rulers  ;  or  of  Abraham,  of  Isaac, 
of  Jacob,  or  of  Job,  who  were  rich  herdmen  and  agriculturists, 
diffusing  peace  and  gladness  all  around  them,  than  to  think  of  imi- 
tating Samuel,  or  Isaiah,  or  Paul,  in  propagating  the  knowledge 
of  divine  truth.  Or,  to  take  men  who  are  not  at  such  an  incon- 
ceivable distance  from  us  in  point  of  piety,  is  it  not  as  much  a 
mark  of  zeal  for  the  truth  to  think  of  followino-  a  Tread  well,  or 
an  Ellsworth,  or  almost  any  of  the  ancient  rulers  of  New  England, 
as  to  imitate  that  very  venerable  body  of  ministers  which  our  fa- 
vored country  has  produced  ?  If,  then,  the  profession  of  law  is 
not  in  itself  unlawful,  it  remains  to  be  determined  by  circumstances 
whether  it  is  lawful  for  any  given  individual  or  not ;  for,  doubt- 
less, neither  that,  nor  the  ministry,  nor  any  other  profession  is  law- 
ful for  every  man. 

I  have  but  a  little  room,  but  I  will  state  what  I  apprehend  to 
be  a  few  facts.  1.  My  health  is  such  now,  that  I  do  not  know  that 
I  have  the  least  shadow  of  reason  to  imagine  I  could  go  through 
with  the  labors  of  a  single  Sabbath.  2.  From  the  unanimous 
advice  of  all  the  physicians  whom  1  have  consulted,  and  from  six 
years  experience,  I  am  led  to  conclude  that  I  never  can  expect 
good  health,  and  but  a  very  slow  and  gradual  restoration  to  a 
comfortable  degree  of  health.  3.  Ministers,  besides  the  labors  of 
the  Sabbath,  have  to  prepare  for  that  day,  and  to  take  a  principal 
part  in  funeral  solemnities,  lectures,  conferences,  he,  which  I  am 
sure  I  could  not  perform.  4.  Almost  every  minister  whom  I  have 
known,  who  has  engaged  in  that  arduous  work  with  a  feeble  con- 
stitution, has  been  obliged  to  leave  it ;  and  some  who  began  with 
a  good  constitution.  5.  It  will  take  me  a  considerable  time  to 
get  a  profession,  and  then  to  be  left  without  any  resource,  with 
something  more  than  myself  dependent  upon  me,  would  not  con- 
tribute to  the  promotion  of  religion   in  my  own  soul,  or  the  souls 


LIFE    OF  EVARTS.  43 

of  Others.  6.  I  conscientiously  believe  I  could  not  recommend 
any  society  to  settle  a  man  of  so  frail  a  constitution  as  I  possess, 
even  should  I  be  able  to  preach  at  first. 

When  I  look  at  the  bar,  especially  at  the  bar  of  Vermont,  the 
prospect  is  exceedingly  dark  and  unpleasant.  The  scarcity  of 
good  men  here,  is  much  greater  than  the  scarcity  of  ministers.  I 
am  also  fully  persuaded  that  a  close  attendance  upon  Courts  would 
be  injurious  to  my  health  ;  but  then  a  lawyer  is  not  obliged  to 
attend,  and  to  labor  so  statedly  as  a  minister  is.  The  great  temp- 
tation to  a  lawyer  is  worldly-mindedness,  and  with  it  comes 
desire  to  conform  to  the  world.  Where  these  gain  a  prevalence, 
religion  is  cut  up  by  the  roots.  My  great  fear  would  be,  there- 
fore, that  I  should  not  live  a  religious  life,  and  consequently  that 
I  should  never  do  any  good  in  the  world.  These  considerations 
repel  me  from  the  bar  many  times,  and  I  am  driven  to  seek  for  a 
third  alternative.  But  the  instruction  of  youth  would  be  a  con- 
finement for  life,  if  I  could  go  through  with  it  ;  for  merchandize 
or  agriculture  I  have  no  stock,  and  am  ignorant  of  both.  That 
God  would  direct  me,  now  and  forever,  is  the  prayer  of  your 
friend  and  brother. 

The  question  being  finally  decided  in  favor  of  the  law,  he  ac- 
cordingly, at  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  his  engagement  at 
Peacham,  repaired  to  New-Haven  and  commenced  his  studies  in 
that  profession.  In  what  spirit  he  did  it,  is  shown  by  the  follow- 
ing entry  in  his  Diary  : — 

April  18,  1804.  Entered  myself  as  a  student  at  law  with  Judge 
Chauncy.  May  God  preserve  me  from  sin  in  this  arduous  under- 
taking 1  Oh  may  I  live  near  to  God  from  day  to  day  1  May  I 
keep  my  garments  clean  from  all  iniquity  ! 

Some  of  his  apprehensions  of  danger,  it  seems,  were  removed 
during  the  first  months  of  his  legal  studies.  "  Last  fall,"  he  wrote 
to  a  friend  in  January  1805,  "  I  had  several  conversations  with 
Judge  Ellsworth  on  the  subject  of  Law.  My  objections  to  the 
practice  I  stated  with  the  utmost  freedom.  He  did  not  convince 
me  that  the  profession  was  a  lawful  employment,  for  that  I  believed 
before ;  but  that  it  was  lawful  to  engage  on  the  side  of  an  unjust 


44  LIFE   OFEVARTS. 

client.  He  argued  in  this  way.  It  is  not  the  lawyer's  business  to 
judge  the  cause  ;  that  is  the  province  of  the  Judge  who  is  appointed 
for  that  purpose  ;  the  lawyer  may  therefore  state  those  things  which 
are  true,  and  are  favorable  to  his  client,  and  no  more.  A  cause 
plainly  dirty  and  indecent  ought  not  to  be  patronized.  But  say 
here  is  a  client  who  has  no  legal  demand.  The  lawyer  is  bound 
to  tell  him  so.  He  still  insists  upon  having  his  claim  tried  by  an 
impartial  tribunal.  Where  is  the  wrong  in  stating  those  things 
which  are  really  in  his  favor  ?  Indeed  where  would  be  the  right 
of  pre-judging  his  cause,  of  refusing  that  aid  without  which  he 
could  not  be  heard,  and  of  precluding  a  citizen  from  seeking  his 
redress  in  a  court  of  justice  ?  The  moment  you  preclude  men 
from  being  judged  by  the  law  of  the  land,  that  moment  you  intro- 
duce club-law,  and  make  every  man  his  own  judge,  and  his  own 
avenger.  Besides,  perhaps  he  may  be  right.  Chief  Justice  Hale, 
a  Christian,  whose  ardent  piety,  inflexible  perseverance  in  well- 
doinp,  and  constant  nearness  to  God,  no  man  will  doubt  who  has 
read  his  life,  undertook,  when  he  first  entered  upon  practice,  to  re- 
fuse bad  causes  ;  but  when  he  found  that  he  had  rejected  two  men 
who  appeared  afterwards  to  have  right  on  their  side,  he  relaxed  as 
to  his  conduct  in  this  particular.  So  invaluable  was  the  privilege 
considered  of  being  heard  in  a  court  of  justice,  that  it  is  one  of 
the  principal  provisions  of  Magna  Charta,  that  it  shall  be  denied 
to  none  of  the  king's  subjects. 

"  Again,  when  a  person  has  been  confessedly  guilty,  (of  theft 
for  instance,)  there  may  be  many  circumstances  of  extenuation, 
which,  in  order  that  justice  may  be  done,  the  court  ought  to  hear 
and  feel. 

"  Judge  Ellsworth  allows  that  there  are  many  temptations  in 
the  law,  but  desires  that  any  employment  may  be  pointed  out  in 
which  there  are  not.     So  much  for  law." 

In  September  following,  (1804,)  he  married  Mrs.  Mehitabel 
Barnes,  daughter  of  Hon.  Roger  Sherman  ;  in  whom  he  found  a 
help  eminently  meet  for  the  circumstances  as  well  as  for  the  man. 

While  a  student  at  law,  Mr.  Evarts  of  course  had  upon  his 
hands  many  of  the  cares  of  active  life.  To  defray  the  expenses 
of  his  little  family  his  house  was  opened  to  a  few  boarders,  and  he 


LIFE    OF   EVARTS.  45 

undertook  the  tuition  of  some  young  men  who  were  preparing  to 
enter  college.  But  he  yet  found  time  for  other  studies  than  that 
of  law.  He  was  aiming  to  appear  at  the  Bar  and  to  sustain  him- 
self there  by  all  the  aid  that  a  liberal  course  of  study  in  other  de- 
partments and  a  familiar  acquaintance  with  the  best  models  could 
afford.  He  had  a  regular  plan  of  classical  and  other  studies 
marked  out,  which  he  steadily  pursued.  He  also  wrote  much  for 
his  own  improvement,  and  frequently  for  publication.* 

In  July,  1806,  he  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  and  opened  an  of- 
fice in  New  Haven,  where  he  continued  in  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession till  1810. 

Three  or  four  years  spent  at  the  Bar  in  New  Haven  were  of 
course  insufficient  for  the  establishment  of  such  a  reputation,  by  a 
young  man,  as  he  might  in  due  season  command.  Mr.  Evarts 
was  considered  a  well-read  and  sound  lawyer  ;  and  was  an  able 
though  not  a  popular  advocate.  In  the  progress  that  he  made  at 
the  Bar,  he  encountered  some  peculiar  and  formidable  obstacles. 
The  duties  and  responsibilities  of  the  office  of  Grand  Juror  are  not 
in  all  cases  divided  in  Connecticut,  as  in  some  other  states,  among 
a  body  of  men  ;  but  it  is  made  the  duty  of  specified  individuals  in 
the  different  towns  to  present  persons  guilty  of  violations  of  law. 
In  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  this  office,  Mr.  Evarts  had  an 
opportunity  for  the  practical  exemplification  of  the  principles  en- 
forced in  his  Baccalaureate  Oration.  A  gentleman  who  was  at 
that  time  a  member  of  the  New  Haven  Bar,  gives  the  following 
account  of  the  circumstances: — Mr.  Evarts,  he  remarks,  "ever 
had  too  much  unbending  integrity  to  be  a  popular  lawyer.  He 
suffered  not  a  little,  and  from  some  gentlemen  of  high  standing  in 

*  Among  his  earlier  publications  were  the  Oration  which  he  delivered  at  the  com- 
mencement in  1505,  when  he  was  admitted  to  the  degree  of  A.  M.  (Panoplist,  vol.  1, 
pp.  349,  etc  ;)  a  Dissertation  on  the  state  of  hterature  in  New  Fngland,  read  before  the 
Society  of  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa,  (Panoplist,  vol.  2,  pp  471,  etc.  ;)  and  several  articles 
on  the  Study  of  the  Law,  published  in  the  Literary  Cabinet — a  Magazine  edited  by 
under- graduates,  among  whom  was  the  late  Thomas  Smith  Grimke,  Esq.,  of  South 
Carolina.  This  distinguished  scholar  and  philanthropist,  and  most  amiable  man,  was 
for  some  time  a  member  of  Mr.  E.'s  family  ;  they  were  on  terms  of  intimacy  during 
the  whole  residence  of  the  former  in  New  Haven,  and  cherished  through  life  the  sin- 
cerest  mutual  respect  and  affection. —  In  the  Literary  Cabinet,  Mr  E.'s  signature  was 
"  Coke  ;"  in  the  Connecticut  Evangelical  Magazine,  the  early  volumes  of  the  Pano- 
plist, and  the  newspapers  at  that  time,  "  C.  Y.  A."  (CoUegii  Yalensis  Alumnus.) 
After  he  became  Editor  of  the  Panoplist,  he  wrote  for  that  work  under  the  signatures 
of  Philalethes,  A.  Ji.,  A.  M  ,  V.  A.,  Agenor,  Antipas,  Benevolus,  and  others. 


46  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

the  profession,  for  his  unyielding  firmness.  The  circumstances 
respecting  which  you  inquire,  arose  from  the  faithful  discharge  of 
his  duty  as  one  of  the  Grand  Jury  for  New  Haven  County,  in  the 
prosecution  of  some  individual  or  individuals  for  obvious  violations 
of  some  law  of  the  state  that  had  uniformly  been  winked  at  by 
other  persons  in  the  same  office.  I  do  not  now  remember  what 
the  offence  was  ;  but  it  was  one  "  contra  bonos  mores  " — perhaps 
the  violation  of  the  Sabbath.  Mr.  Evarts  said  to  me  that  his  oath 
bound  him  to  the  prosecution  ;  and  he  could  not  be  governed  by 
the  corrupt  usages  of  other  men.  He  accordingly  commenced  a 
process,*  but  failed  ot   convicting  the  offending   party.     He  was 

*  How  indeed  could  a  man  do  otherwise,  who  in  his  heart  entertained  views  re- 
specting oaths  of  office  like  those  which  Mr.  E.  afterwards  published  : — 

"  It  might  be  curious,"  he  says,  "  to  form  an  oath  of  office  to  suit  the  practice  ot 
many  of  our  public  officers.     If  I  mistake  not,  it  would  run  somewhat  as  follows  : — 

'  I  solemnly  swear,  that  I  will  faithfully  and  truly  discharge  the  duties  of  a  as 

prescribed  by  the  laws  of  this  Commonwealth  ;  provided  said  laws  are,  in  my  opinion, 
jitst  and  salutary,  and  have  not  become  obsolete  in  consequence  of  the  improvements  of 
modern  times  ;  and  provided  it  shall  seem  to  vie  expedient  that  the  said  laws  should  he 
executed;  and  provided  1  ca7i  discharge  the  duties  imposed  upon  me  by  said  office  with 
perfect  ease,  comfort,  and  repiitation  to  myself,  and  without  the  smallest  risk  of  incurring 
any  personal  inconvenience  or  u7ipopidarity.'  Would  not  such  an  oath  be  a  gross  af- 
front to  God — an  impudent  trifling  on  a  most  solemn  subject?  What  must  be  the 
guilt,  then,  of  taking  a  very  different  oath,  and  acting  as  if  it  were  expressed  in  the 
manner  above  stated  ?" — Fanoplist,  vol.  10,  p.  3G2. 

"  Official  perjury,"  he  says  again,  ''  differs  from  other  kinds  of  false  swearing  in  this, 
that  it  is  not  an  attestation  to  a  falsehood,  but  an  engagement  entered  into  with  an 
oath  to  perform  certain  duties,  which  duties  are  afterward  voluntarily  neglected.  It  is 
seldom  less  heinous  than  other  kinds  of  perjury;  but  is  often  more  so,  as  it  is  de- 
liberate, persisted  in,  and  habitual.  It  is  committed  more  commonly  than  in  any  other 
manner,  by  a  neglect  to  execute  laws  which  the  person  had  solemnly  sworn  to  exe- 
cute. And  if  there  is  any  meaning  in  an  oath  of  office,  if  it  is  not  an  insignificant 
ceremony,  every  civilized  country  lies  under  the  horrid  guilt  of  trifling  with  God  in 
the  most  vital  concerns  of  the  community.  In  this  dreadful  condemnation  our  country 
must  come  in  for  a  large  share.  Our  morals  have  been  fortified  by  wise,  judicious, 
and  efficient  laws  ;  laws  which  experience  has  proved  to  be  salutary  and  efficient ; 
but  as  immorality  became  bold,  our  magistrates  have  become  timid ;  they  have  for- 
gotten their  oaths  ;  and  if  this  country  is  corrupted  and  destroyed,  to  the  neglect  of 
official  duties  must  be  charged  the  guilt  of  destroying  the  most  favored  nation  that  the 
sun  ever  shone  upon.  I  am  not  ignorant  of  the  answers  to  this  heavy  charge  ;  and  I 
know  full  well  their  miserable  futility.  IfJialfthe  magistrates  in  New  England  would 
go  on  resoliUely,  tmiledly,  and  pr^ulently  in  the  discharge  of  their  plain  duties,  those  du- 
ties which  they  are  sworn  to  discharge,  they  might  yet  save  their  country.  They  might 
effectually  put  down  Sabbath-breaking,  profaneness,  drunkenness,  gambling,  lewd- 
nes'*,  and  idleness.  I  do  not  suppose  that  they  could  prevent  these  sins  in  every  de- 
gree ;  but  they  might  effectually  discountenance  them,  and  drive  them  utterly  from 
public  view.  How  great  is  the  sin  of  contributing  to  destroy  a  whole  people! — 
Paiioplist,  vol.  7,  p.  306. 


LIFE   OF   EVARTS.  47 

opposed  by  the  first  lawyers  of  the  state  ; — and  denounced,  and 
greatly  and  shamefully  abused,  and  by  the  community  at  large. 
He  suffered  for  a  long  period  on  this  account,  and  for  righteous- 
ness' sake." 

So  completely  had  he  brought  his  whole  being  into  accordance 
with  the  purest  and  strictest  law  of  righteousness  in  regard  to 
official  duty. 

Nor  number  nor  example  with  him  wrought 

To  swerve  from  trutli,  or  change  his  constant  mind, 

Though  single. 

He  was  the  farthest  possible  from  being  rash  or  obstinate.  But 
his  conscientiousness  and  public  spirit  were  both  great  ;  and  either, 
in  connection  with  his  uncommon  sagacity  and  judgment,  would 
have  sufficed  to  keep  him,  in  circumstances  like  these,  above  all 
the  influences  of  fear  or  favor  that  must  of  necessity  bear  strongly 
upon  a  young  lawyer  situated  as  he  was.  It  was  these  sterling 
qualities  that  enabled  him  to  encounter  the  obloquy  of  men  at  the 
head  of  the  profession,  and  whose  bearing  towards  him  must  of 
course  almost  decide  the  question — so  important  to  him  then — of 
his  present  success  at  the  Bar.  In  the  same  spirit  he  could  disre- 
gard the  threats  by  which  the  unprincipled  sometimes  endeavored 
to  intimidate  him, — supposing  doubtless  that  the  fears  of  a  man  so 
unable  to  repel  force  by  force  might  be  easily  practiced  upon. 
Being  at  one  time  engaged  in  a  suit  in  which  the  opposite  party 
felt  that  his  character,  as  involved  in  the  transaction,  was  vulnera- 
ble, Mr.  Evarts  was  taken  aside  and  threatened  with  personal 
violence  should  he  touch  upon  certain  points.  He  heard  the 
threat  calmly  ;  and  when  called  upon  to  speak  in  the  case  did  not 
fail  to  set  the  unworthy  conduct  of  the  party  in  its  proper  light. 

During  this  period,  and  indeed  always,  he  took  a  lively  interest 
in  political  affairs.  From  his  first  entrance  on  life  as  a  freeman 
he  thought  much  on  the  privileges  and  never  shrunk  from  the  du- 
ties involved  in  that  character.  Nor  as  a  citizen,  any  more  than 
as  a  magistrate,  were  his  principles  of  action  derived  from  the 
practice  of  others.  He  looked  to  those  higher  sources  in  the 
neglect  of  which  so  many  trifle  with  the  most  solemn  obliga- 
tions  and   degrade   the    very   name  of  freeman.     If  he  was    a 


48  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

zealous  partizan,  he  was  also  a  conscientious  one.  In  com- 
paring the  two  great  political  parties  of  the  times,  his  favorite 
points  were  connected  with  moral  and  religious  considerations. 
His  influence  could  never  be  diverted,  by  any  considerations, 
from  the  support  of  what  he  believed  to  be  the  real  moral  in- 
terests of  the  country.  He  studied,  indeed,  thoroughly,  the  mea- 
sures and  general  policy  of  the  parties ;  and  few  men  could  assign 
with  equal  promptness  and  precision,  reasons  for  condemnation  or 
approval,  with  reference  to  the  more  obvious  and  generally  appre- 
ciable grounds  of  policy.  But  he  went  higher.  All  political 
movements  and  changes  were  intimately  connected  in  his  mind 
with  the  interests  of  morality  and  religion.  Above  all  things  he 
was  anxious  to  see  enlightened  conscience  supreme  in  every  pub- 
lic office.  The  services  or  attachments  of  party  were  lighter  than 
air  in  the  comparison.  Nothing  would  sooner  arouse  his  indigna- 
tion than  to  see  an  individual  in  public  life,  using  the  influence  that 
office  gives,  to  undermine  the  principles  and  corrupt  the  morals  of 
the  young  and  ignorant. 

Neither  the  study  nor  the  practice  of  his  profession  withdrew  his 
attention  from  the  claims  of  religion,  or  weakened  his  sense  of 
responsibility  as  a  Christian.  When  most  engaged  in  these  pur- 
suits, he  never  allowed  himself  either  through  indolence  or  easy 
conformity  to  the  habits  and  manners  of  associates  older  at  the  bar 
and  respected  by  all,  to  appear  as  any  other  than  a  strictly  reli- 
gious man.  It  was  not  with  him  as  with  too  many,  who  disappoint 
not  only  their  friends  but  themselves,  after  their  entrance  upon  a 
secular  profession,  by  losing  in  its  cares,  its  pleasures,  its  hopes,  and 
the  society  to  which  it  invites,  the  spirit  of  Christians,  and  that 
deep  sense  of  responsibility  to  God  and  of  obligation  to  imitate 
their  Lord  in  doing  good,  with  which  they  appeared  to  select  the 
pursuit  and  to  enter  upon  its  studies.  With  Mr.  Evarts  every  thing 
continued  to  he  subservient  to  his  obligations  and  pursuits  as  a  dis- 
ciple of  Christ.  By  keeping  his  heart  thus  fixed,  his  character 
and  habits  as  a  Christian  philanthropist  were  subjected  to  excel- 
lent discipline  during  this  whole  period.  He  wrote  for  the  Con- 
necticut Evangelical  Magazine  and  afterwards  for  the  Panoplist, — 
both  works  of  high  character  at  that  time  ;  and  took  a  lively  inter- 
est in  the  circulation  of  both.     He  was  one  of  the  originators,  and 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  49 

while  he  remained  in  New-Haven,  the  secretary  of  the  Connecti- 
cut Religious  Tract  Society, — wrote  a  number  of  its  publications, 
and  spent  much  time  in  gratuitous  efforts  to  promote  its  objects. 

As  a  member  and  officer  of  the  church  of  Christ  at  this  period 
he  will  be  best  described  in  the  language  of  his  Pastor,*  who  speaks 
of  him  as  follows : — 

"  Soon  after  my  settlement  he  attached  himself  to  my  church, 
where,  from  first  to  last,  he  was  always  an  active  and  most  con- 
spicuous member. 

"  Not  long  after  he  had  joined  us,  an  unusual  attention  to  religion 
commenced  among  my  people.  The  consequence  of  this  was 
increased  efforts  of  a  religious  nature  among  all  who  were  actually 
engaged  in  the  cause  of  religion  ;  among  whom  no  one  was  more 
conspicuous  than  Mr.  Evarts.  He  was  soon  chosen  a  deacon  of 
the  church,  in  which  office  he  demeaned  himself  in  the  most  noble, 
Christian,  and  exemplary  manner,  being  always  ready  to  every 
good  word  and  work.  So  many  religious  meetings  were  held, 
during  the  revival,  that  it  was  quite  impossible  for  me  to  attend 
them  all.  Mr.  Evarts,  therefore,  often  supplied  my  place,  pray- 
ing, reading  some  appropriate  piece,  and  following  these,  made 
such  remarks  as  the  occasion  required. 

"  The  sound  sense,  the  enlightened  views,  and  the  ardent  piety 
which  he  manifested  in  this  way,  were  so  conspicuous,  that  the 
meetings  which  he  attended  were  never  complained  of  as  being 
deficient  In  interest.  He  and  another  excellent  man,  the  late  dea- 
con S.  Twining,  of  New  Haven,  were  my  right-hand  men,  on 
whom  I  could  always  lean,  and  in  whom  I  felt  that  I  could  repose 
unreserved  confidence.     In  this  respect  I  was  never  disappointed. 

"  Never  have  I  known  any  man,  in  whom  the  Christians  of  my 
church  had  more  unreserved  confidence,  than  in  Mr,  Evarts,  and 
none  to  whom  it  was  more  justly  due.  His  was  not  the  flashing 
light  which  gleams,  and  glares,  and  excites  wonder,  and  then  dies. 
It  was  the  steady,  diffusive,  warming,  cheering,  vivifying  light  of 
the  sun,  which  sheds  life,  and  animation,  and  cheerfulness  on  all 
within  its  reach. 

"  When  I  look  back  on  those  scenes  of  my  early  life,  and  ask, 

*  The  Rev.  Professor  Stuart,  of  the  Aiwjover  Theological  Seminary. 

7 


50  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

Where  and  when  have  I  seen  their  like  ?  T  am  constrained  to  feel 
that,  so  far  as  my  experience  is  concerned,  I  have  witnessed  none 
of  altogether  the  same  tenor.  It  falls  to  the  lot  of  few  of  my 
beloved  brethren  in  the  ministry  to  have  two  such  deacons  as  those 
above-named.  I  am  sure  few  can  remember  any  associates  with 
more  unmixed  delight  than  I  do  these. 

"  I  have  never  yet  had  the  experience  of  knowing  any  man,  in 
whom  all  his  acquaintance  placed  more  unreserved  confidence, 
whether  religious,  civil,  or  social,  than  was  placed  in  Mr.  Evarts. 
The  enemies  even  of  religion  spoke  but  one  voice  respecting  him. 
Although  some  pronounced  him  to  be  mistaken  in  his  views  and 
feelings,  they  believed  him  to  be  sincere. 

His  private  character  was  one  of  the  most  faultless  and  com- 
plete that  I  have  ever  known.  Envy,  slander,  detraction,  and 
every  thing  of  this  nature,  which  forms  so  conspicuous  a  feature 
in  the  character  of  many  even  that  are  called  Christians,  were  as 
remote  from  him  as  from  any  man  that  1  have  ever  yet  known. 
Then  there  was  an  expansive,  enlightened,  elevated,  noble  state 
of  mind  and  feeling,  that  rendered  him  incapable  of  descending  to 
the  arts  which  many  employ,  either  to  thwart  his  opponents,  or  to 
throw  obstacles  in  the  way  of  those  who  were  treading  with  him- 
self the  path  to  high  esteem  and  elevated  station  in  the  minds  of 
the  sober  part  of  the  public.  All  that  was  or  could  be  gained  by 
his  fellow-Christians,  of  true  and  solid  reputation,  seemed  to  him 
to  be  clear  gain  to  the  church,  and  therefore  to  the  stock  whose 
interests  he  was  most  engaged  to  promote. 

"  He  left  New  Haven  in  January,  1810,  in  the  same  stage-coach 
with  myself,  to  take  the  editorship  of  the  Panoplist,  at  Boston, 
while  I  came  to  this  place.  Never  did  I,  never  can  I,  have  a 
dearer  friend.  The  remembrance  of  his  friendship,  and  of  his 
endearing  qualities  and  virtues,  comes  over  me  like  a  refreshing 
breeze  from  the  regions  of  the  blessed.  But  ah  !  the  thought  that 
he  is  gone  from  the  circle  of  action  in  which  I  yet  move — this 
makes  life  less  desirable,  and  death  more  welcome. 

"  There  are  many  excellent,  very  excellent  men  in  the  church 
now,  whom  I  highly  esteem  and  love.  But  how  can  I  ever  feel, 
in  all  respects,  towards  any  one  who  has   not  been  connected 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  51 

with  me  as  Mr.  Evarts  was,  just  as  I  did   towards  him  ?     Who 
will  be  ready  to  censure  me,  if  I  do  not  and  cannot  ? 

"  More  unbending  integrity,  more  fidelity,  and  steadfastness,  and 
true-heartedness,  and  modesty,  and  humility,  and  ardent  devotion, 
and  enlightened  zeal,  and  sound  judgment,  and  trust-worthiness,  and 
kindness,  I  never  expect  to  find  in  this  world  ;  and  not  many  have 
gone  to  the  other,  who  have  more  excelled  in  all  that  belongs  to 
the  true  character  of  the  Christian,  the  scholar,  and  the  gentle- 
man." 

A  few  extracts  from  the  correspondence  of  Mr.  Evarts,  dunng 
this  period,  are  added  : 

TO    THE    REV.    LEONARD    WORCESTER. 

December  8, 1806. 

I  observe  by  the  papers  that  our  wise  Assembly  men  have  at- 
tempted to  repeal  all  laws  tending  in  any  way  to  support  or  coun- 
tenance religion.  It  seems,  however,  that  they  could  not  quite 
get  a  vote.  It  is  lamentable  that  so  many  could  be  brought  to 
wish  for  such  a  repeal ;  and  greatly  to  be  desired  that  people 
would  learn  that  men  of  piety,  virtue,  public  spirit,  and  patriotism, 
make  the  best  rulers,  and  ought  on  all  occasions  to  be  preferred  to 
those  whose  private  lives  are  infamous,  and  whose  public  conduct 
is  little  else  than  a  loud  and  clamorous  pursuit  of  their  own  ag- 
grandizement. 

I  think  it  very  possible  that  I  shall  remove  to  Vermont  next 
spring  or  summer,  as  my  friends  are  very  urgent  to  have  me  do  it ; 
and  a  more  active,  stirring  life  than  I  lead  here,  agrees  with  my 
health.  Should  I  remove,  I  hope  to  exert  what  talents  and  influ- 
ence I  may  have  in  the  service  of  God. 

TO    THE     SAME. 

December  24, 1807. 

It  was  with  much  interest  that  I  read  your  account  of  afiairs  at 
Peacham.  I  cannot  but  hope  to  hear  that  the  solemn  visitations 
of  Divine  Providence  have  been  the  means  of  awakening  sinners, 
and  exciting  an  attention  to  the  realities  of  the  world  to  come. 
Mr.  B.'s  death  struck  me  as  an  event  full  of  alarm  to  those  who 


52  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

were  equally  careless  with  him  about  the  concerns  of  the  soul.  I 
hope  it  has  had  the  effect  of  an  alarm  upon  them. 

You  have  probably  heard  ere  this  of  the  uncommon  revival  of 
religion  at  Litchfield  and  Goshen,  in  this  State.  At  the  latter 
place  there  has  been  an  unusual  concern  for  many  months — I  be- 
lieve considerably  more  than  a  year — and  more  than  a  hundred 
persons  have  joined  the  church  in  consequence  of  the  awakening. 
The  attention  still  continues  great.  At  Litchfield  the  concern 
began  about  six  months  ago,  and  was  attended  at  first  by  some 
very  striking  circumstances.  It  began  on  the  same  day  in  several 
different  parts  of  the  town,  without  any  uncommon  visible  means, 
and  without  any  intercourse  or  communication  between  the  persons 
affected.  The  attention  soon  became  general,  and  so  continues 
at  the  present  time.  Twenty-seven  were  admitted  into  the  church 
at  once  in  November,  and  thirty  more  are  propounded  for  admis- 
sion next  Sabbath.  This  revival  has  pervaded  all  parts  of  the 
town,  but  especially  the  thickest  settlement  about  the  meeting- 
house, where  for  three  quarters  of  a  mile  along  the  town  street, 
as  I  have  been  informed  from  good  authority,  more  than  three 
fourths  of  the  young  people  are  either  hopeful  converts  or  solemnly 
affected.     The  work  is  still  increasing. 

The  people  of  this  city  are  very  inattentive  to  religion  ;  though 
there  is,  I  hope,  somewhat  of  an  increased  eagerness  to  hear.  Mr. 
Stuart  cannot  but  hope  that  there  are  signs  of  an  awakening  here. 
The  church  has  appointed  a  monthly  meeting,  in  conjunction  with 
the  other  church  in  this  town,  for  the  purpose  of  praying  for  the 
outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  We  have  conferences  also  once 
a  week,  confined  principally  to  professing  Christians,  for  the  same 
purpose,  and  for  Christian  instruction  ;  and  we  have  pretty  fre- 
quent church  meetings,  for  the  purpose  of  reviving  church  disci- 
pline and  promoting  brotherly  communion.  It  is  not  an  easy 
thing  to  revive  discipline  where  it  has  become  obsolete. 

TO    A    SISTER. 

August  19,  1808. 

The  attention  to  religion  continues  here.  The  whole  number 
admitted  to  both  Congregational  churches,  with  those  now  pro- 
pounded, is  over  one  hundred  and  forty.     The  young  converts  are 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  53 

generally  very  circumspect  and  exemplary  in  their  Christian  life. 
A  number  of  the  young  females  meet  by  themselves  once  a  week 
for  reading  and  religious  conversation,  and  they  allow  nothing  to 
be  said  but  on  religious  subjects.  They  are  faithful  also  to  ad- 
monish each  other  of  faults.  The  appearance  of  the  town  is 
greatly  changed  for  the  better.  Parties  of  mere  amusement  are 
almost  done  with,  and  there  is  a  great  attendance  on  all  religious 
meetings. 

TO    MR.    JOHN    HALL. 

January  21, 1809. 

Of  the  state  of  religion  here  you  have  doubtless  heard  much. 
New  Haven  is  indeed  greatly  changed.  More  than  two  hundred 
persons  have  professed  their  faith  in  Christ  within  a  year,  and 
many  more  are  anxious  for  their  salvation.  Almost  all,  except 
decided  scoffers,  are  more  or  less  serious.  There  has  been  a  de- 
cline of  the  seriousness,  but  we  hope  it  is  reviving  at  present. 
How  constantly,  how  perseveringly,  how  anxiously  ought  we  to 
pray  for  the  continuance  and  extension  of  so  glorious  a  work.  I 
have  to  reproach  myself  with  much  slothfulness  in  this  branch  of 
duty. 

TO    HIS    SISTER. 

July  21,  1809. 

The  state  of  religion  here  is  much  more  pleasing  than  in  most 
parts  of  our  country.  Almost  all  the  young  ladies  in  the  most 
wealthy  and  respectable  families  are  either  professors  of  religion, 
or  are  so  well  disposed  towards  it  as  to  speak  and  act  with  the 
greatest  reverence  on  the  subject.  And  those  who  profess  to  be 
religious  make  it  a  very  serious  business  ;  we  have  every  reason  to 
believe  that  they  make  great  progress  in  the  divine  life.  More 
than  three  hundred  have  united  with  the  churches  here  since  the 
beginning  of  January,  1808. 

TO    THE    REV.    LEONARD    WORCESTER. 

January  31,  1810. 

You  have  heard  of  Mr.  Stuart's  removal  to  be  a  Professor  at 
Andover.     This  was  a   serious  trial  to  his  people  and  to   the 


54  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

friends  of  religion  generally.  In  the  short  space  of  three  years 
and  ten  months  he  had  been  made  the  instrument  of  great  good. 
In  this  brief  period  two  hundred  were  added  to  his  church, 
twenty-eight  from  other  churches,  and  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
two  from  the  world ;  of  the  latter,  one  hundred  and  forty  were 
hopeful  converts,  during  the  revival  which  commenced  about  two 
years  ago.  The  state  of  the  church  is  now  very  pleasant.  Much 
animation  exists  in  the  pursuit  of  religious  knowledge,  and  in  the 
practice  of  piety  and  virtue  ;  much  sorrow  for  sin,  much  earnest 
prayer,  and  considerable  exertion  for  the  salvation  of  those  who 
are  yet  impenitent.  I  trust  that  God  will  graciously  supply  the 
vacancy  occasioned  by  Mr.  Stuart's  removal,  but  see  not  at  pre- 
sent how  it  can  be  done. 

To  Mr.  Merwin's  church  there  have  been  added  since  the  re- 
vival commenced,  1  believe,  about  two  hundred.  This  Divine 
blessing  you  will,  with  us,  regard  as  most  important,  and  a  subject 
of  elevated  joy.  The  manners  and  general  demeanor  of  the  peo- 
ple of  the  town  have  undergone  an  evident  change.  On  the 
whole.  New  Haven  is  the  most  agreeable  place  to  live  in  that  I 
am  acquainted  with. 


CHAPTER   III. 


EDITOR   OF   THE   PANOPLIST.     ISIO— 1821. 


Notwithstanding  what  is  said  at  the  close  of  the  preceding 
chapter  about  removing  to  Vermont,  and  the  pleasantness  of  New 
Haven,  we  find  Mr.  Evarts,  very  soon  after  the  last  date,  on  a 
visit  to  Massachusetts,  considering  the  question  of  a  removal  to 
Boston,  Charlestown,  or  Andover.  He  had  received  an  invitation 
to  take  charge  of  the  Panoplist,  as  editor.  In  a  letter  written 
during  this  visit,  he  says :  "  On  the  subject  of  a  place  in  which  to 
live,  and  an  employment  to  fix  upon,  I  am  often  perplexed.  I 
consider  it  as  undoubted  that  if  I  enjoy  health  which  will  permit 
me  to  remove,  New  Haven  must  be  left  ;  although  it  is  a  place  in 
which  I  should  rather  live  than  in  any  other  that  1  am  acquainted 
with,  on  all  accounts,  except  the  single  one  of  a  support.  If  I 
had  a  reasonable  assurance  of  support  immediately  from  my  pro- 
fession alone,  I  should  think  it  my  duty  to  engage  in  no  other 
employment.  But  my  experience  at  New  Haven  leads  me  to 
distrust  appearances,  which  might  otherwise  perhaps  satisfy  me. 
This  experience  seems  to  tell  me  that  I  am  not  to  get  a  living  by 
the  law,  although  I  am  well  convinced  that  my  talents  are  better 
fitted  for  practice  at  the  bar  than  for  any  other  employment,  if  I 
could  only  get  business. 

"  The  principal  reasons  which  induce  me  to  think  of  the  Pano- 
plist are: — 1.  A  living  ;  one  thousand  dollars  a  year  insured  to 
me — without  which  I  shall  do  nothing — would  be  a  very  compe- 


56  LIFE   OF   EVARTS 

tent  support  in  Charlestown.  2.  The  employment  would  be  the 
means  of  doing  much  good.  3.  It  would  lead  to  such  studies  as 
are  perfectly  suited  to  my  taste,  and  in  which  I  should  be  very 
pleasantly  engaged,  if  engaged  at  all.  To  these  advantages  are 
to  be  opposed  the  difficulties  of  suiting  the  two  great  parties  of 
religious  people  here  ;*  the  difficulty  of  satisfying  persons  of  taste  ; 
the  hazard  of  stepping  out  of  one's  profession,  he.  he.  Perhaps 
my  mind  is  disposed  to  see  evils.     May  God  direct  us  all." 

That  the  failure  at  the  bar,  mentioned  in  this  letter,  was  for 
want  of  talents  well  adapted  to  the  business  of  the  profession,  is  a 
supposition  which  those  who  were  best  capable  of  judging  unani- 
mously reject.  Gentlemen  of  the  bar  who  knew  him  intimately 
then,  and  in  later  periods  of  his  life,  unite  in  regarding  his  talents 
as  remarkably  fitted  for  the  law.  It  may  be  said  that  he  left  the 
profession  too  early.  But  might  not  a  young  man  of  even  ordi- 
nary qualifications,  known  personally  and  by  reputation  for  char- 
acter and  scholarship  as  well  as  Mr.  Evarts  was  in  New  Haven,  ex- 
pect in  the  course  of  three  or  four  years,  to  make  some  progress,  and 
to  receive  something  more  than  enough  to  defray  his  office  expenses  ? 
The  chief  obstacles  to  Mr.  Evart's  success  at  New  Haven  arose 
from  circumstances  already  mentioned.  He  early  rendered  him- 
self obnoxious  to  men  eminent  at  the  bar,  and  to  many  others,  by 
the  faithful  discharge  of  official  duty ;  and  his  residence  at  New 
Haven  was  too  short  to  overcome  the  difficulties  that  he  had  to 
encounter  from  this  cause.  Other  duties  were  before  him  ;  and 
in  the  providence  of  God  these  difficulties  were  made  both  a  salu- 
tary discipline  and  a  means  of  compelling  him  to  enter  another 
field  of  labor.  How  much  would  probably  have  been  lost  to  the 
cause  of  missions,  to  our  country,  and  to  the  world,  had  the  cir- 
cumstances of  his  early  professional  life  been  different ;  had  imme- 
diate success  greeted  him,  and  fame  and  affluence  beckoned  him 
on.  He  whose  ways  are  not  our  ways,  had  taken  the  young 
lawyer  by  the  hand,  and  was  leading  him  through  difficulties  and 
trials,  through  reproach  and  obloquy,  through  seasons  of  darkness 
and  discouragement,  into  the  very, sphere  of  labor  for  which,  above 
all,  he  was  best  fitted,  and  in  which,  for  the  service  of  Christ  and 

*  Hopkinsiang  and  Calvinists. 


LIFE   OF   EVARTS.  57 

the  well-being  of  mankind,  the  labor  of  such  a  man,  at  that  period, 
were  most  needed. 

His  character  had  been  formed  under  a  strong  influence  from  the 
great  religious  movement  that  marked  the  close  of  the  last  and  the 
beginning  of  the  present  century.     The   Wesleyan   and   Baptist 
Missionary  Societies  and  the  Sunday  School  Society,  were  formed 
in   London  in  his  childhood  ;  and  during    his  youth  the   London 
Missionary  Society,  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  the  Edinburgh 
Missionary   Society,  the   London    Religious  Tract  Society,  and  in 
this   country,    the    Connecticut,  Massachusetts  and    New    York 
Missionary   Societies,  had   come  into  existence,  and  were  already 
attracting  the  attention  of  the  Christian  community.    The  journals 
and   correspondence    of    their   missionaries    and   agents    had   the 
freshness  of  novelty,  and  often  an  interest  for  the  imagination,  as 
well  as   the  heart,  that  took  a  strong  hold  of  the  susceptible  and 
benevolent.      The  moral  and  religious  state  of  the  world  was  be-  ' 
coming  known  ;  startling  disclosures  of   ignorance  and   sin  were 
made  in  Christian  as  well  as  in  heathen  lands  ;  and  men  wondered, 
as  at  a  new  discovery,  to  read  of  the  power  of  the  gospel  to  sub- 
due all  things  unto  itself.     Sir  William  Jones,  who  had  done  more 
than  all  other  men  at  the  time  to  awaken  an  interest  in  the  condi- 
tion of  the  millions  of  British  India,  died  in  1794  ;  and  his  life  and 
labors  were  afterwards  brought  impressively  home  to  the  bosom  of 
young  scholars,  and  to  the  Christian  public,  in  the  congenial  memoir 
of  Lo'rd  Teignmouth.  Before  Mr.  Evarts  entered  on  his  professional 
life,  those  most  degraded   specimens  of  humanity,  the   Hottentots 
of  South  Africa,  had  begun  to  yield  to  the  purifying  and  elevating 
truths  carried  among  them  by  Kicherer  and  Vanderkemp,  and  the 
triumphs  of  the  gospel  in  distant  Tahiti   had  already  commenced. 
On  the  one  hand,  infidelity  had    burst  out  in   the   horrors  of  the 
French    Revolution,    and   was  agitating   Europe    and   America; 
while  on  the  other,  Wilberforce  was  in   the  zenith    of  his  power, 
and  John  Newton,  Thomas  Scott,  the  Burders,  the  Fullers,   the 
Marshmans,the  Careys,  the  Thorntons,  the  Macauleys,  and  the  glo- 
rious company  of  their  fellow  laborers  of  difl'erent  communions, 
were  living  exemplars  of  Christian   discipleship,  —  distant  enough 
to  secure  for  the  young  the  full  benefit  of  reverence,  and  yet  near 
enough  for  sympathy  and  attraction.  With  such  individuals  abroad 
8 


58 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 


and  with  m,en  of  congenial  spirit  in  our  own  country,  Mr.  Evarts 
felt  himself  intimately  allied  from  the  day  that  he  began  to  cherish 
the  Christian  hope  ;  and  his  feelings  were  elevated  and  his  views 
expanded  by  the  thought.  The  affectionate  reverence  with  which, 
in  his  early  years,  he  regarded  the  Christian  statesmen  and  philan- 
thropists of  England,  was  remarkable,  and  was  cherished  through 
life. 

It  was  within  the  first  ten  years  of  the  present  century,  Mr.  Evarts 
being  still  of  an  age  naturally  most  susceptible  of  generous  impulses, 
that  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  was  formed,  and  the 
example  soon  imitated  in  the  organization  of  the  Philadelphia  and 
Connecticut  Bible  Societies  ;  that  the  first  Tract  Societies  in  this 
country  were  organized  ;  that  some  of  the  General  Associations  of 
Congregational  ministers  in  New  England  originated,  and  mutual 
intercourse  by  deilegates  began  among  them  ;  that  the  Andover 
Theological  Seminary  was  established  ;  that  the  publication  of  the 
Christian  Observer  and  Eclectic  Review,  the  Massachusetts  Mis- 
sionary Magazine,  the  Connecticut  Evangelical  Magazine  and  the 
Panoplist,  were  commenced  ;  that  the  Serampore  Translations  of 
the  Bible  attracted  most  earnest  attention  ;  and  that  Buchanan 
visited  the  Syrian  Christians  in  India,  and  began  to  sound  his 
trumpetrcall  to  the  field  of  Christian  missions  through  Europe  and 
America.*  In  a  word,  the  first  twenty  years  of  the  life  of  Mr. 
Evarts,  after  childhood,  were  crowded  with  events  most  important 
in  the  religious  history  of  modern  times.  New  fields  for  Christian 
effort  were  discovered,  new  plans  suggested,  new  enterprises  under- 
taken. He  welcomed  the  movement  with  his  whole  heart.  He 
entered  into  life  under  its  influence.  He  saw  that  it  was  right — that 
it  was  in  accordance  with  the  law  of  love,  and  was  demanded  by 
the  highest  religious  obligation.     And,  as  we  have  seen    in  other 


*  The  Sunday  School  Society  was  founded  in  1785  ;  the  Wesleyan  Missionary  So- 
ciety in  1756 ;  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society  in  1789  ;  the  London  Missionary  Society 
in  1795  ;  the  Edinburgh  and  New  York  Missionary  Society  in  1796  ;  the  Connecticut 
Missionary  Society  in  1798  ;  the  London  Rehgious  Tract  Society  and  the  Massachu- 
setts Missionary  Society  in  1799 ;  the  Church  Missionary  Society  in  ISOO ;  the  British 
and  Foreign  Bible  Society  in  1804  ;  the  Connecticut  Religious  Tract  Society  in  1S07  ; 
the  Philadelphia  Bible  Society  in  1808 ;  the  Connecticut  Bible  Society  in  1S09 ;  the 
publication  of  the  Christian  Observer  was  commenced  in  1801;  that  of  the  Panoplist  in 
1605 ;  the  Andover  Theological  Seminary  was  organized  in  ISOS. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  59 

spheres  of  action,  convictions  of  right  and  duty  were  the  law  of 
his  life,  so  it  was  here.  He  was  of  course  naturally  led  to  watch 
all  the  religious  movements  of  the  time.  When  the  Panoplist  was 
established  in  1805,  he  welcomed  it  as  a  new  instrument  of  good, 
and  soon  became  one  of  its  favorite  correspondents.  Hence  the 
invitation  that  has  been  mentioned.  In  May,  1810,  he  removed 
to  Charlestown. 

The  Panoplist  owed  its  existence  very  much  to  the  Rev.  Jede- 
diah  Morse,  D.  D.,  of  Charlestown,  who  is  understood  to  have 
been  the  principal  editor  for  several  years,  aided,  however,  and 
with  great  efficiency,  both  in  the  commencement  and  continuance 
of  the  work,  by  the  best  writers  among  the  orthodox  Congrega- 
tionalists  of  Massachusetts  and  the  neighboring  states.  Every  one 
acquainted  with  the  state  of  things  in  New  England,  and  especi- 
ally in  Massachusetts,  at  that  period,  knows  how  important  an  in- 
fluence this  work  exerted  as  a  vehicle  of  evangelical  truth  and 
important  religious  controversy  ;  how  much  it  contributed  to  sift 
opinions,  stem  the  tide  of  error,  diffuse  an  enlightened  and  scrip- 
tural piety,  and  awaken  the  disciples  of  Christ  to  vigorous  ex- 
ertions for  extending  the  kingdom  of  their  Lord.  Its  establishment 
will  ever  be  regarded  as  marking  an  era  in  the  religious  history  of 
New  England. 

The  Congregational  churches  were  then  beset  with  peculiar 
difficulties  and  dangers.  Unitarianism  existed  to  a  great  extent, 
but  not  in  its  present  open  and  tangible  shape.  Its  spirit  had  be- 
come dominant  among  the  professors  and  guardians  of  Harvard 
College,  that  ancient  monument  of  enlightened  piety,  devoted,  in 
the  earliest  year  of  New  England,  Christo  et  Ecdesice,  to  Christ 
and  the  Church.  It  was  exerting  a  powerful  and  ceaseless  in- 
fluence on  the  public  mind  from  the  heights  of  metropolitan  litera- 
ture. It  numbered  among  its  adherents  those  who  gave  law  to 
public  opinion  in  matters  of  taste  and  learning.  But  Unitarianism 
was  not  then,  as  now,  the  system  of  another  well-defined  body  of 
men  out  of  the  bosom  of  orthodox  Congregationalism.  Its  minis- 
ters had  not,  to  much  extent,  appeared  before  the  public  as  such  ; 
their  own  views  of  Christian  doctrine  were  doubtless  in  many 
cases  exceedingly  vague  and  unsettled  ;  and  in  that  transition  state 
it  was  their  natural  policy  to  countenance  and  to  cherish  the  belief 


60  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

that  they  had  not  departed  essentially  from  the  faith  of  their 
fathers  and  of  their  orthodox  brethren.  Thus,  while  undefined, 
and  not  distinctly  before  the  public  in  the  writings  or  in  the 
preaching  of  its  ministers,  the  system  was  spreading  among 
pastors  and  in  the  churches.  Many,  from  their  connection  with  a 
denomination  known  to  be  evangelical  as  a  body,  had  a  name  to 
live,  while  as  to  all  knowledge  of  spiritual  truth  and  experience  of 
its  power,  they  were  dead.  By  silence  respecting  the  distinguish- 
ing doctrines  of  the  Gospel,  and  by  introducing  other  views  by 
slow  and  imperceptible  degrees — whether  as  the  natural  result  of 
their  own  gradual  departure  from  the  truth,  or  from  motives  of 
policy — pastors  had  led  their  flocks  far  astray.  And  even  where  the 
errors  of  the  invading  system  were  not  distinctly  embraced,  there  had 
arisen  extensively  a  strong  distaste  for  the  doctrines  and  practices 
which  the  Fathers  of  New  England  regarded  as  according  to  god- 
liness. The  spirit  of  evangelical  piety  was  hardly  to  be  found  in 
free  and  vigorous  action  in  a  single  Congregational  church  in 
Boston.  Even  where  such  piety  existed,  its  free  growth  and  natu- 
ral impulses  were  checked,  and  the  influence  that  it  ought  to  exert 
was  opposed,  more  or  less,  by  interests  and  agencies  of  another 
character  in  the  same  church.  Park-street  Church  was  formed  in 
1809,  on  exclusively  evangelical  principles  ;  and  it  was  there  only, 
in  Boston,  that  Congregationalists  who  held  the  faith  and  cherished 
the  spirit  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  could  unite  their  prayers  and 
efforts  for  mutual  edification  and  for  the  diffusion  of  truth,  in  the 
confidence  of  meeting  such  only  as  were  one  with  themselves  in 
principle  and  in  feeling.*  So  great  a  defection  in  the  metropolis 
did  not  exist,  of  course,  without  an  extensive  corresponding 
change  in  the  country.  In  many  of  the  most  important  towns, 
the  larger  and  more   wealthy  societies   had   come  entirely  under 


*  In  saying  this,  the  important  services  rendered  to  the  cause  of  truth  by  many  ex- 
cellent members  of  the  Old  South  Church,  indeed,  by  that  Church  as  a  body,  are  not 
forgotten.  To  that  venerable  body  belongs  the  distinguished  honor  of  having  main- 
tained the  faith  of  our  fathers  through  the  whole  period  of  declension  referred  to,  and 
of  upholding  alone  the  ancient  standard,  before  the  Park-street  Church  was  formed. 
That  some  of  its  members  were  more  or  less  ensnared  by  the  prevalent  errors,  is  no 
matter  of  wonder ;  that  as  a  body,  it  constantly  maintained  the  truth,  shows  the  power 
of  Divine  grace  in  a  company  of  intelligent  and  devoted  Christians,  most  of  whom 
have  gone  to  their  rest,  and  whose  memory  is  precious. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  gj 

the  same  influences  with  those  of  Boston  ;  and  throughout  some 
large  districts,  the  spirit  of  true  Christian  piety  seemed  almost  to 
be  gone  and  past  recovery. 

Nor  were  the  friends  of  truth  so  strong  as  they  have  since  be- 
come, in  knowledge,  in  faith,  in  mutual  confidence  and  co-opera- 
tion, and  in  the  power  derived  from  associated  labors  in  the  service 
of  their  common  Lord.  By  comparatively  very  few,  even  of  the 
clergy  among  the  orthodox,  were  the  the  nature  and  tendencies  of 
Unitarianism  well  understood  ;  and  the  duties  required  by  such  a 
state  of  things  were  not,  therefore,  generally  seen  or  appreciated. 
The  points  of  difference  between  the  parties  had  not  been  studied, 
discussed,  defined.  The  orthodox  were  not  sufficiently  acquainted 
with  each  other.  They  did  not  know  their  own  strength  as  a  body. 
In  looking  to  one  neighboring  church  or  another  for  sympathy  and 
advice,  they  could  not  be  sure  that  it  would  be  accorded  to  them 
in  the  spirit  which  they  loved,  because  they  had  no  adequate 
means  of  knowing  how  far  those  churches  remained  sound  in  the 
faith.  In  a  word,  the  process  of  separation  had  hardly  begun  ; 
and  there  was  all  the  weakness  of  discordant  materials  and  incon- 
gruous mixtures,  —  of  doubt,  hesitation,  and  perplexity  from  a 
thousand  causes.  The  churches  had  a  process  of  purification  and 
special  instruction  to  go  through  ;  it  was  necessary  that  they 
should  rid  themselves  of  the  more  palpable  incumbrances  of  error, 
and  put  on  armor  against  it. 

The  orthodox  churches,  and  orthodox  members  of  Unitarian  or 
mixed  churches,  also  suffered,  even  more  than  now,  from  inade- 
quate views  of  their  duties  and  privileges  as  Christians.  With 
some  exceptions  on  a  limited  scale,  there  were  yet  no  societies  for 
distributing  Bibles  or  Tracts,  for  educating  young  men  for  the  min- 
istry, or  for  missions,  domestic  or  foreign.  The  movement  in  this 
direction  was  but  beginning.  The  churches  had  not  generally 
learned  to  strengthen  and  enlarge  themselves  by  means  of  these 
institutions,  and  were  to  a  melancholy  extent,  ignorant  of  their 
value.  That  series  of  revivals  of  religion  which  has  been  as  life  from 
the  dead  to  the  churches  of  this  land  for  the  last  thirty  years,  and 
the  influence  of  which  is  now  felt  in  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe, 
had  scarcely  commenced  ;  and  little  was  known  of  the  thousand 
agencies  of  the  living  voice  and  of  the  press  that  now  give  simul- 


62  LIFE   OF   EVARTS. 

taneous  impulse  to  Christian  philanthropy  and  enterprize  through- 
out the  country.  Even  of  the  state  of  the  churches  themselves 
there  was  much  less  mutual  knowledge  than  at  present ;  much 
more,  notwithtstanding  the  movement  already  begun,  was  there  a 
sad  ignorance  of  the  vast  destitute  regions  of  our  own  country,  and 
of  the  wants  and  claims  of  heathen  nations. 

Such  was  the  state  of  things  when  the  publication  of  the  Pan- 
oplist  was  commenced,  and  such  it  was  essentially,  when  Mr.  Evarts 
removed  to  Massachusetts  and  became  the  editor.  He  had  from 
the  first,  as  has  been  before  remarked,  been  among  the  most  con- 
stant writers  for  it ;  and  his  qualifications  for  such  pursuits  and  his 
love  of  them  had  thus  become  well  known  to  the  conductors  ;  and 
they  united  in  urging  the  editorship  upon  him  with  an  earnestness 
and  importunity  which,  considering  the  character  of  the  applicants, 
it  would  have  been  difficult  to  resist.  He  acceded  to  their  pro- 
posals with  much  hesitation,  and  as  an  experiment.  Thoughts  of 
engaging  again  in  professional  labors  were,  however,  soon  aban- 
doned ;  for  he  found  himself  fully  employed  in  duties  congenial 
to  his  tastes,  and  demanding  the  exercise  of  his  highest  powers 
and  best  affections. 

The  arrangement  was  a  happy  one.  His  qualifications  for  the 
editorship  of  such  a  journal  are  rarely  combined  in  one  individual. 
He  was  a  practical  and  well-disciplined  writer.  He  was  accus- 
tomed to  investigate  subjects  with  direct  reference  to  the  state  of 
the  public  mind,  and  to  the  wants  of  the  church  and  the  world  ; 
and  he  had  a  fondness  for  writing  which  rendered  it  a  pastime. 
His  mind  had  been  trained  by  severe  discipline,  and  was  furnished 
with  extensive  knowledge  on  a  great  variety  of  subjects,  and  en- 
tirely at  his  command.  He  had  great  critical  acumen,  and  was 
able  to  search  out  and  expose  the  most  intricate  and  plausible 
sophistry.  His  power  of  discrimination  and  analysis,  and  his 
ability  to  examine  a  subject  till  he  knew  that  he  had  seen  the 
whole  of  it,  and  to  arrive  at  conclusions  in  which  to  rest  safely 
and  with  confidence,  were  remarkable.  He  was  remarkable,  also, 
for  accuracy,  industry,  and  patience  in  research.  While  he  pos- 
sessed a  moral  courage  that  nothing  could  daunt,  he  was  adorned 
with  uncommon  candor  in  controversy,  and  meekness  and  self- 
command  under  reproaches.     His  high  estimate  of  the  power  and 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  63 

importance  of  the  press,  and  his  deep  sense  of  responsibility,  effec- 
tually secured  him  against  rashness,  and  directed  his  labors  toward 
the  public  good.  His  elevated  standard  of  religious  feeling  and  ac- 
tion, and  especially  his  enterprize  and  zeal  in  behalf  of  religious  and 
charitable  institutions,  were  just  what  was  needed  at  that  time  in  one 
sustaining  that  relation  to  the  Christian  public.  In  regard  to  the 
condition  and  wants  of  the  churches,  of  the  country,  and  of  the 
world,  his  mind  and  heart  were  full.  Subjects  were  always  pressing 
upon  his  thoughts  and  his  conscience.  In  writing,  his  mind  was 
too  much  engrossed  with  his  subject  and  too  fertile  upon  it,  to  ad- 
rait  of  his  being  verbose  or  discursive.  His  style  was  characterized 
by  no  ornament,  except  such  as  is  involved  in  expressing  thought 
clearly,  forcibly,  and  with  strong  feeling.  His  diction  was  pure 
and  copious  ;  always  manly,  and  indicative  of  the  energy  and 
comprehensiveness  of  his  mind. 

Under  his  care,  the  reputation  of  the  Panoplist  immediately  rose  ; 
and  it  was  probably  better  supported,  and  had  more  of  the  confi- 
dence of  the  religious  community  generally,  for  the  ten  years 
during  which  it  was  under  his  editorship,  than  any  similar  work 
ever  published  in  this  country.  This  was  secured  as  much  by  its 
admirable  adaptation  to  the  wants  of  the  public,  as  by  the  sound 
judgment  in  other  respects,  and  the  literary  ability  and  taste  with 
which  it  was  conducted. 

But  his  character  as  a  Christian  editor  may  be  better  illustrated 
by  a  glance  at  some  of  the  prominent  objects  to  which  his  labors 
were  devoted. 

Among  these  objects,  the  elevation  of  Christian  character,  es- 
pecially with  reference  to  the  use  of  property  and  to  activity  in 
doing  good,  held  a  prominent  place.  The  excellence  and  dignity 
of  the  Christian  character, — the  goodness  and  mercy  of  God  in 
calling  men  to  be  partakers  of  his  holiness  and  co-workers  with 
him  in  doing  good — the  opportunities  for  the  exercise  of  Christian 
beneficence  in  a  world  like  this,  and  especially  in  this  age — the 
nature  and  extent  of  that  self-consecration  which  is  the  Christian's 
duty  and  privilege — the  stewardship  of  Christians  in  regard  both  to 
the  use  of  property  and  to  the  power  of  exerting  a  personal  Influ- 
ence on  others  —  the  state  and  prospects  of  those  who  know  not 
God — the  examples  of  holy  and  devoted  men,  especially  contem- 


54  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

poraries,  who  had  acted  in  the  very  circumstances  and  in  the  dis- 
charge of  the  same  duties  to  which  his  own  readers  were  called  ; 
—  these  and  others  of  kindred  nature  were  topics  to  which  he 
often  recurred,  and  on  which  he  dwelt  with  great  earnestness  and 
effect. 

"  If  the  Panoplist  has  any  merit,"  was  his  own  language,  "  it 
consists  in  the  aid  which  our  pages  impart  to  the  various  plans  of 
Christian  benevolence  now  in  operation.  The  noblest  aim  to 
which  it  aspires,  is  that  of  being  an  auxiliary  in  the  great  cause 
which  now  unites  the  hearts  and  hands  of  so  many  active  and 
pious  men  throughout  the  world."  *  "  The  American  people,  if 
not  blind  to  their  own  permanent  interests,  and  stupidly  ignorant 
of  their  own  advantages,  can  perform  wonders  in  the  accomplish- 
ment of  the  grandest  designs  which  ever  claimed  the  attention  or 
employed  the  activity  of  mortals ;  designs  of  no  less  magnitude 
than  the  establishment  of  schools,  churches,  and  the  regular  min- 
istration of  divine  ordinances,  in  all  the  destitute  places  of  our 
own  country ;  the  distribution  of  the  Bible,  and  the  support  of 
missionaries  to  preach  its  doctrines,  in  every  part  of  the  globe ;  the 
alleviation  of  human  suffering  of  every  kind,  wherever  men  are 
found  ; — in  a  word,  the  entire  subjugation  of  the  world  to  Christ, 
and  of  course  the  eternal  salvation  of  unnumbered  millions  in  all 
future  generations.  Who  does  not  give  thanks  to  God  for  the 
opportunity  to  exert  even  the  humblest  agency  in  promoting  so 
blessed  a  consummation?"  t  "  If  all  professed  Christians  were 
truly  what  they  profess  to  be,  and  if  all  real  Christians  were 
plainly  distinguished  by  that  grand  characteristic  of  the  Savior,  that 
he  went  about  doing  good,  how  soon  would  the  face  of  the  world  be 
changed;  how  glorious  would  be  the  alteration;  how  divine  the 
effects.  Every  individual  is  answerable  to  his  conscience,  and  to 
God  the  judge  of  all,  if  he  does  not  contribute  his  full  proportion 
towards  bringing  about  so  immense  a  good.  Time  is  rolling  on ; 
the  active  years  of  those  now  in  their  prime  are  fast  spending ; 
health  is  impaired  in  ten  thousand  instances,  and  life  is  lost  in  ten 
thousand  more  ;  opportunities  are  passing  by,  never  to  return  ;  and 
yet  how  slowly  does  the  good  cause  advance,  compared  with  the 
wi.shes  of  Christians  and  the  exigencies  of  mankind.  What  en- 
terprizes  must  be  undertaken,  what  labor  performed,  what  perse- 
verance exhibited,  what  an  amazing  combination  organized,  and 
what  extended  operations  carried  on,  before  the  world  shall  be 
evangelized.  Every  year  of  delay  in  this  work  ought  to  be  a  year 
of  deep  regret."  X 

"  The  most  noble  of  sciences,  the  science  of  doing  good,  is  too 
htlle  studied.  If  it  were  better  understood  and  made  the  subject 
of  daily  contemplation,  the  way  would  be  prepared  for  a  grander 
display  of  benevolence  on  a  large  scale,  than  the  world  has   ever 

*  Panoplist,  Vol.  xiii.  Preface.  t  lb-  Vol.  ii.  Preface.  %  lb.  p.  3. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  g5 

yet  seen.  The  ultimate  object  aimed  at  would  indeed  be  the 
same  which  has  been  pursued  by  the  truly  virtuous  in  every  age  ; 
but  a  peculiar  sublimity  would  mark  the  enterprizes  in  which 
Christians  of  eveiy  nation  and  every  langviage  should  engage  with 
enlightened  minds  and  united  efibrts  ;  and  a  peculiar  glory  would 
crown  these  enterprizes.  The  employment  of  doing  good — of 
aiming  directly,  by  prompt  and  vigorous  action,  to  promote  the  per- 
manent good  of  others  —  should  be  made  a  part  of  the  regular 
business  of  eveiy  Christian.  It  should  be  reduced  to  a  system, 
and  have  a  large  share  of  time  and  property  assigned  to  it.  This 
time  and  property  should  be  sacredly  devoted  to  God,  and  em- 
ployed in  the  best  practicable  way ;  not  squandered  on  doubtful 
or  useless  projects,  nor  hoarded  up  for  future  occasions,  which  may 
never  arrive  ;  but  wisely  apportioned  to  purposes  of  unquestiona- 
ble utility,  of  great  importance,  and  pressing  urgency."  * 

"  The  day  will  arrive  when  one  exertion  put  forth  with  a  sincere 
desire  to  benefit  the  souls  of  men,  will  be  of  more  value  to  the 
person  who  made  it,  and  will  be  more  highly  appreciated  by  the 
intelligent  universe,  than  all  the  riches  that  avarice  ever  desired, 
and  all  the  power  for  which  ambition  ever  toiled."  t 

"  This  world,  especially  at  the  present  period,  affords  as  encour- 
aging a  place  for  doing  good,  as  the  sublimest  imagination  can 
create,  or  the  most  benevolent  heart  desire."  t 

It  was  such  thoughts  as  these  that  flowed  most  spontaneously 
from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Evarts,  whenever  circumstances  led  him  to 
take  a  general  view  of  the  objects  and  bearings  of  the  work  under 
his  care.  And  it  was  his  constant  endeavor  in  every  number, 
by  scriptural  argument  and  affectionate  appeal,  by  exhibiting  the 
state  of  the  world  and  the  progress  of  every  good  work,  and  by 
reference  to  the  example  of  the  wise  and  good,  to  commend  such 
thoughts  to  the  understandings  and  the  hearts  of  his  Christian 
readers, — to  diffuse  them  in  active  power  like  leaven  through  the 
churches. 

In  its  relations  especially  to  this  paramount  object,  he  regarded 
with  deep  interest  the  Christian  education  of  children.  The  fol- 
lowing extracts  from  an  Essay  "  On  educating  Children  for  the 
Present  Times,"  which  he  published  in  the  Panoplist,  show  the 
elevation  of  his  views  and  the  reach  of  thought  with  which  he 
was  wont  to  contemplate  whatever  nearly  concerned  the  great 
interests  of  humanity : 

*  Panoplist,  vol.  xiii.  p.  1.        t  It>-  vol.  xiv.  Preface,        |  lb.  vol.  xv.  Preftce. 

9 


66  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

"  Children  should  be  educated  in  a  course  of  self-denial.  Un- 
der this  head  I  shall  not  be  understood  to  countenance  voluntary 
austerities  and  mortifications,  suflered  for  the  sake  of  promoting 
self-righteousness  and  pride,  but  to  insist  upon  a  habit  of  surren- 
dering personal  enjoyments  and  gratifications,  whenever  an  en- 
lightened conscience  pronounces  the  surrender  to  be  necessary. 
Everything  which  would  retard  the  pilgrim  in  his  journey  to  the 
heavenly  rest,  or  limit  the  extent  of  his  labors  for  his  Savior, 
should  be  cheerfully  relinquished.  Too  many  professed  Christians 
have  deceived  themselves,  rather  than  others,  by  a  mere  profession. 
They  have  made  the  sum  of  religion  to  consist  in  a  round  of  formal 
duties,  while  they  remained  under  the  entire  dominion  of  selfish- 
ness and  worldly  passions.  Possibly  they  have  made  long  prayers, 
and  have  been  able  to  converse  tolerably  well  on  religion,  while 
deaf  to  the  calls  of  charity,  and  regardless  of  the  great  interests  of 
truth  and  godliness.  Where  there  is  no  self-denial,  there  can  he  no 
real  virtue.  The  whole  of  a  child's  education  should  impress 
upon  him  this  fundamental  truth  ;  and  he  should  be  accustomed 
from  his  earliest  years  to  make  personal  sacrifices  for  the  good  of 
others.  He  should  feel  that  he  lives  not  for  himself,  but  for  man- 
kind. If  disposed  to  pervert  this  maxim,  and  to  neglect  the  small 
things  within  his  reach,  under  pretence  of  doing  good  on  a  larger 
scale,  he  can  be  called  back  from  his  reverie  by  the  reflection,  that 
it  requires  no  self-denial  to  do  good  on  a  large  scale,  in  imagination 
only ;  while  to  discharge  with  fidelity  the  every-day  duties  of  life 
requires  great  steadiness  of  principle,  and  may  prove  the  existence 
of  great  love  to  God  and  man.  *  *  *  Children  should  be  educated 
in  a  course  of  habitual  beneficence.  Self-denial  is  preparatory  to 
beneficence.  The  one  furnishes  the  means  of  doing  good,  the 
other  applies  them.  The  great  characteristic  of  our  Savior  while 
on  earth  was,  that  he  went  about  doing  good.  It  should  be  deeply 
impressed  on  the  minds  of  the  young,  that  this  is  the  great  thing 
for  which  intelligent  beings  were  made  ;  that  by  doing  good,  a  re- 
semblance of  the  glorious  Creator  is  stamped  upon  the  character; 
and  that  all  other  desirable  possessions,  without  this,  will  ultimately 
prove  of  no  value. 

"  A  life  of  beneficence  will  be  distinguished  by  two  prominent 
traits,  charity  and  activity.  It  may  be  useful  to  consider  these 
traits  separately. 

"  Charity  should  be  taught  systematically,  both  by  precept  and 
example.  It  should  be  considered  as  an  indispensable  part  of 
instruction  and  of  practice  ;  just  as  really  so,  as  truth,  justice,  or 
industry.  It  is  as  often  commanded  in  the  Scriptures,  as  any 
other  duty  whatever ;  it  is  not  less  necessary  to  the  Christian  than 
any  other  duty ;  it  is  most  amiable  in  its  aspect,  most  cheering  in 
its  tendency,  most  blessed  in  its  effects.  Charity,  by  which  I 
here  mean  the  gratuitous  application  of  property  and  time  to  the 
relief  of  the  temporal  and  spiritual  wants  of  others,  is  a  duty  which, 
truth  obhges  me  to  say,  has  not  been  sufficiently  understood  or 
practised  by  any  part  of  the  Christian  world.  Many  are  now 
awakening  to  a  perception  of  their  duty;  but  the  greater  part. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  67 

even  of  professors  of  religion,  continue  to  sleep  on.  Yet  God 
has  taken  abundant  pains  to  instruct  men  in  the  nature  and 
extent  of  charitable  claims.  If  the  Levitical  law  had  been 
given  on  purpose  to  designate  and  enforce  claims  of  this  kind, 
it  could  not  have  been  more  express  and  particular  than  it  is. 
The  whole  New  Testament  supports,  in  regard  to  all  mankind,  the 
great  principles  of  beneficence  which  the  law  of  Moses  had  urged 
upon  the  Israelites,  throughout  the  code  of  their  national  pohty. 
If  a  nation  were  to  act  unanimously  on  these  principles,  it  would 
exhibit  the  highest  degree  of  worldly  prosperity,  an  universal  free- 
dom from  poverty  and  want,  and  an  universal  practice  of  industry 
and  economy  on  the  one  hand,  with  a  constant  and  humble  de- 
pendence on  God  and  a  perfect  freedom  from  excess  and  intem- 
perance on  the  other.  Such  an  exhibition  will  yet  be  made  by 
all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  in  the  happy  period  which  is  visibly 
approaching.  That  each  religious  parent  may  do  all  in  his  power 
to  hasten  the  period  alluded  to,  let  him  instruct  his  children  that 
charity  is  to  be  performed  with  as  much  regularity,  promptness 
and  cheerfulness,  as  any  other  duty  of  life.  They  should  set  apart 
a  weekly  or  monthly  portion  from  their  savings,  or  earnings,  (as 
soon  as  they  are  able  to  save  or  earn  anything,)  for  this  purpose; 
and  they  should,  if  possible,  be  furnished  with  the  opportunity  of 
saving  and  earning,  at  an  early  age.  They  should  see,  in  the 
cheerful  countenances  of  their  parents,  the  joy  experienced  in  re- 
lieving want  and  mitigating  distress.  They  should  be  taught  to 
dwell  with  pleasure  on  the  mayiy  invitations  to  charity,  which  are 
presented  to  the  benevolent.  No  truly  good  object  should  they  be 
allowed  to  consider  as  an  intruder,  though  their  means  should  not 
permit  them  to  give  aid  except  to  a  very  few.  The  portion  claimed 
for  benevolent  purposes  they  should  see  to  be  a  valuable  and  im- 
portant portion ;  not  a  mere  trifle,  utterly  insignificant  when  com- 
pared with  their  father's  income.  They  should  be  taught  to  value 
money  principally  as  a  means  of  communicating  happiness ;  and 
for  this  purpose  they  should  be  encouraged  to  acquire,  preserve 
and  expend  it.  The  young  may  easily  be  taught  to  practise  char- 
ity, both  by  giving  their  money  and  spending  their  time  for  benev- 
olent objects.  It  is  not  difficult  to  make  them  understand  with 
what  temper,  and  from  a  regard  to  whose  authority,  these  duties 
are  to  be  performed.  The  man  who  habituates  his  child  to  take 
pleasure  in  doing  good,  especially  if  God  confers  at  the  same  time 
a  truly  benevolent  disposition,  does  more  for  the  temporal  happi- 
ness of  the  child,  than  if  he  left  him  heir  to  millions,  without  an 
inclination  to  use  his  wealth  for  the  benefit  of  mankind.  Let 
it  not  be  supposed,  that  I  am  urging  upon  all  to  give  large  sums 
in  charity,  or  to  teach  their  children  to  do  so.  That  would  be 
absurd  and  imposible.  But  all  should  devote  an  important  portion 
of  their  means — a  portion  which  cost  them  time,  or  labor,  or  some 
thing  which  they  value.  The  widow's  two  mites  teach  more 
than  could  be  fully  detailed  in  a  volume." 

"  Perhaps  it  will  be  said,  that  the  course  here  recommended  would 
exhaust  the  community  by  charitable  donations.     Far  from  it.     If 


dQ  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

this  course  were  universally  pursued,  the  community  would  be  en- 
riched in  a  manner  hitherto  unexampled  in  the  world.  If  all  the 
poor  exerted  themselves  to  lay  up  money  for  charity,  they  would 
insensibly  and  before  they  were  aware  of  it,  emerge  from  poverty. 
They  would  never  be  found  in  a  grog-shop,  or  at  the  gaming  table. 
The  way  in  which  much  of  the  money  necessary  to  reform  the 
world  is  to  be  procured,  is  by  saving.  More  than  fifty  millions  of 
dollars,  which  have  been  annually  wasted  by  the  people  of  the 
United  States  for  these  ten  years  past,  might  have  been  saved, 
without  abridging  one  rational  enjoyment ;  and  this  enormous  sum 
might  have  loeen  employed  in  charity,  without  diminishing  the 
wealth  of  the  country,  or  lessening  the  happiness  of  a  single  individ- 
ual. It  would  indeed  have  increased  the  happiness  of  many  millions. 
The  time  is  coming  when  these  truths  will  be  felt ;  let  children  be 
taught  to  feel  them  now.  The  time  is  coming  when  the  number- 
less milhons  now  squandered  in  debauchery,  excess,  and  especially 
in  war,  will  no  longer  be  perverted  to  fill  this  world  with  tears  iind 
blood,  with  agony  and  despair,  and  to  people  the  world  of  perdi- 
tion ;  let  children  be  taught  to  act  with  a  particular  design  to 
bring  about  that  time  as  quick  as  possible." 

"  On  the  activity  which  ought  to  pervade  the  life  of  a  Christian, 
surely  little  need  be  said  Shall  he  sleep  at  his  post  at  such  a 
season  as  this  ?  Shall  he  fold  his  hands,  and  idly  gaze  around  in 
harvest  time — the  harvest  time  of  the  world?  Shall  he  educate 
his  children  to  be  spectators,  lifeless  spectators,  rather  than  actors  in 
the  wonderful  events  of  the  present  day  ?  Every  talent  ought  now 
to  be  employed  to  the  utmost.  He  that  has  the  head  to  contrive,  the 
tongue  and  the  pen  to  persuade,  or  the  hands  to  execute,  should  be 
on  the  alert,  and  make  no  compromise  with  ease  and  indolence.  No 
habit  of  honestly  acquiring  property,  of  instructing  the  ignorant, 
of  admonishing  the  vicious,  should  be  suffered  to  subside.  The 
wisdom  of  age  and  the  ardor  of  youth  should  form  a  holy  combi- 
nation, and  all  the  powers  and  faculties  of  the  body  and  mind 
should  be  dedicated  to  the  grand  design  of  reforming  mankind,  by 
producing  in  each  circle  of  influence  these  good  effects ;  which,  if 
produced  in  every  circle,  would  form  the  great  consummation  so 
often  mentioned." 

"  To  piety,  self-denial  and  beneficence,  must  be  added  courage. 
Bold  must  be  the  man,  and  in  the  highest  degree  resolute  and 
persevering,  who  is  completely  fitted  to  be  the  most  useful  at  the 
present  day.  In  order  to  instil  suitable  courage  irito  the  minds  of 
the  young,  nothing  will  avail  without  a  paramount  regard  to  the 
authority  of  God.  In  a  mind  where  such  a  regard  exists,  it  will 
be  practicable  to  form  a  habit  of  disregarding  the  opinions  and 
maxims  of  the  Avorld.  The  youth  in  our  public  seminaries  of 
learning  should  be  especially  guarded  on  this  head.  They  should, 
as  far  as  possible,  be  made  superior  to  any  temptation  which  can 
be  offered  by  a  regard  to  the  applauses  or  the  votes  of  the  people. 
It  is  indeed  to  be  most  deeply  lamented,  that  in  consequence  of 
the  depravity  of  man,  the  grand  feature  of  an  elective  government 
should  become  the  most  universal  and  powerful  means  of  cojrrup- 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  69 

tion ;  and  that  the  exertions  of  the  wisest  and  the  best  of  men 
should  be  so  often  hmited,  paralyzed,  and  crashed,  by  the  corrupt 
influence  of  the  weakest  and  the  worst.  Such,  however,  is  the 
fact.  The  only  remedy,  so  far  as  human  means  are  referred  to, 
is  to  form  a  combination  of  able,  independent,  upright  men,  who 
are  perfectly  willing  to  forego  all  popular  honors,  for  the  sake  of 
promoting  the  present  and  eternal  happiness  of  their  fellow  crea- 
tures. Let  me  not  be  supposed  to  sanction,  under  the  name  of 
courage,  a  proud,  self-sufficient  disregard  of  the  feelings,  or  even 
of  the  prejudices  or  vices  of  the  world  The  courageous  man  may 
be  as  conciliating  in  his  manners,  as  inoffensive  in  his  deportment, 
affectionate  and  mild  in  his  temper,  as  can  possibly  be  desired  by 
any  one  ;  but  he  may  not  yield  to  a  temporizing  policy ;  he  may  not 
surrender  the  great  interests  of  virtue  ;  he  may  not  cease  to  defend 
them,  for  the  sake  of  all  the  honors  and  rewards  which  the  whole 
world  could  bestow." 

"  Parents  are  encouraged  to  educate  their  cliildren  religiously 
by  the  consideration,  that  they  are  thus  ordinarily  doing  good  on  a 
more  extensive  scale,  than  in  any  other  way.  Christians  should 
certainly  do  all  the  good  in  their  power,  and  they  should  seek  the 
means  of  doing  good  extensively  and  permanently.  To  all  who 
have  children  the  means  are  at  hand.  The  good  conferred  upon 
mankind  by  giving  the  world  a  single  well-educated,  pious,  public- 
spirited,  self-denying  young  man  or  young  woman,  is  incalculable. 
This  subject  is  too  often  overlooked  and  disregarded.  As  domes- 
tic discipline  and  domestic  enjoyments  are  removed  from  public 
view,  and  make  no  great  figure  in  the  common  estimates  of  use- 
fulness and  influence,  the  fh-eside  is  too  seldom  considered  as  the 
grand  nursery  of  piety,  in  which  plants  of  righteousness  shall  be 
reared,  and  fitted  to  flomish  and  blossom  and  bear  fruit  forever. 
All  Christians  have  it  not  in  their  power  to  preach  the  gospel,  be- 
come pastors  of  churches,  preside  over  seminaries  of  learning,  or 
write  for  the  improvement  of  others  ;  but  all  have  it  in  their  power 
to  make  the  family  circle  a  scene  of  religious  improvement;  a 
little  sanctuary,  from  which  prayer  and  praise  shall  daily  ascend  to 
God  ;  a  school  of  virtue,  in  which  immortal  beings  shall  be  trained 
up  for  glory." 

The  purity  of  the  churches  was  an  object  for  the  promotion  of 
which  Mr.  Evarts  labored  assiduously.  The  state  of  the  churches 
in  Boston  and  the  vicinity  has  already  been  mentioned.  He  had 
not  remained  ignorant  of  these  things  till  he  visited  Boston  ;  yet, 
as  is  evident  from  his  papers,  he  had  formed  no  adequate  concep- 
tion of  the  magnitude  of  the  evil,  and  of  the  dangers  which  threat- 
ened the  churches.  During  his  visit  to  Massachusetts,  while  the 
matter  of  the  editorship  was  under  consideration,  he  was  at  great 
pains  to  acquaint  himself  fully  with  this  subject.  He  listened 
to  the  sermons  of  Unitarian  ministers,  and,  after  all  that  he  had 


70  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

previously  heard,  was  astonished  at  the  extent  of  their  departures 
from  the  Gospel.  He  examined  their  writings,  and  saw  how  error 
was  inwrought  into  the  fugitive  literature  of  the  metropolis,  and 
how  every  occasion  was  seized  to  bring  what  he  regarded  as  Chris- 
tian truth  and  piety  into  contempt.  The  plan  of  establishing 
himself  in  Boston  in  the  practice  of  his  profession,  led  him  to  con- 
sider the  reception  that  a  man  with  his  views  of  Christianity  and 
of  religious  duty,  would  probably  meet  with.  The  result  was  dis- 
heartening in  the  extreme.  To  conceal  his  religious  opinions,  or 
to  live  any  other  than  what  he  deemed  a  Christian  life,  was  with 
him  out  of  the  question  ;  and  in  such  a  state  of  the  public  mind, 
the  hope  of  his  success  as  a  lawyer  in  Boston  seemed  almost 
equally  so.     Times  are  since  changed. 

It  may  well  be  supposed  that  a  system  so  dominant,  and  as  yet 
not  dissevered  from  orthodox  Congregationalism,  must  exert  a 
deadly  influence  upon  the  churches,  and  Mr.  Evarts  was  not  slow 
to  perceive  the  necessity  of  entire  separation.  His  inquiries  on 
the  subject  were  prosecuted  with  great  earnestness  after  his  removal 
to  Charlestown,  and  when  he  was  able  to  command  ampler  means 
for  forming  a  correct  judgment  on  the  various  practical  questions 
that  came  up.  By  the  results  of  these  inquiries,  the  course  pursued 
in  the  Panoplist  was  conscientiously  governed.  His  first  great 
object  was,  to  bring  before  the  public  mind,  clearly  and  impres- 
sively, the  neglected  and  misrepresented  truths  of  the  Gospel,  in 
their  relations  especially  to  Christian  character  and  duty.  To 
exclude  error,  the  surest  way  is  to  pre-occupy  the  mind  and  heart 
with  truth.  Next  he  labored,  in  connexion  with  a  few  friends,  to 
bring  evangelical  Christians  into  their  proper  relations  to  each 
other.  Although  among  the  most  ardent  promoters  of  union 
among  all  who  cherish  the  same  essential  faith  and  are  actuated 
by  the  same  spirit,  he  would  never  sacrifice  truth  to  the  claims  of 
a  spurious  charity,  or  acquiesce  in  a  factitious,  delusive,  deadly 
peace.  He  saw  the  necessity  of  a  separation  before  even  the  real 
friends  of  evangelical  religion  could  be  brought  to  act  together 
and  efficiently  in  the  labors  of  Christian  philanthrophy. 

In  order  to  this,  to  expose  the  prevalent  errors,  to  bring  them 
into  the  open  day,  where  they  could  be  seen  and  known  of  all 
men,  was  the  first  duty.      The  publication  of  the  "  Improved 


LIFE    OF  EVARTS.  71 

version"  of  the  New  Testament,  and  of  certain  facts  relating  to 
Unitarianism  in  America,  in  Belsham's  Life  of  Lindsey,  furnished 
prominent  occasions  for  this  exposure.  The  review  of  the  latter 
in  the  Panoplist,  gave  rise  to  a  controversy,  in  which  the  late  Dr. 
Channing  took  a  prominent  part.  Prevalent  errors  thus  became 
known  ;  the  characteristics  of  Unitarianism  were  understood  ;  its 
incompatibility  with  evangelical  religion  was  appreciated  and  felt. 
Those  who  cherished  the  faith  of  their  fathers,  were  led  to  see  the 
necessity  of  separation.  Ministers  of  the  Gospel  could  no  longer 
exchange  pulpits  with  known  supporters  of  the  latitudinarian  faith. 
The  line  was  drawn  between  truth  and  error  ;  between  those  who 
were  obedient  to  the  one  and  the  abettors  of  the  other ;  between 
the  churches  in  which  the  orthodox  doctrine  of  Christ  and  him 
crucified  was  preached,  and  those  that  had  received  "  another 
Gospel." 

True,  the  change  was  not  effected  without  a  struggle  ;  nor 
without  ill-will ;  nor  without  severe  denunciations  against  those 
who  were  most  active  in  promoting  it.  No  such  separation  ever 
took  place  without  the  inteiTuption,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  of 
mutual  good  feeling  ;  and  there  is  always  occasion  that  seems 
plausible  to  the  superficial,  and  to  the  multitude  who  are  naturally 
prejudiced  against  religious  truth,  for  charging  men  desirous  of 
separation  in  such  cases,  with  a  want  of  liberality  and  charity  ; 
with  disturbing  the  peace  of  the  churches  ;  with  interrupting  the 
harmony  of  the  community,  and  even  breaking  in  upon  the  enjoy- 
ments of  fireside  peace.  In  view  of  all  these  incidental  evils,  his 
writings,  through  the  whole  controversy,  were  prepared  and  re- 
vised with  most  careful  regard  to  the  requisitions  of  justice  and 
real  charity.  He  was  sometimes  spoken  of,  for  the  course  that  he 
pursued,  with  sufficient  harshness.  His  motives  were  impeached  ; 
his  character  assailed  ;  and  acts  and  feelings  ascribed  to  him  that 
his  soul  abhorred.  His  accusers  did  not  know  him.  Never  was 
he  moved  to  publish  a  rash  or  ill-considered  reply.  At  the  outset 
of  his  editorial  life  he  had  said  : 

"  We  could  wish  our  pages  to  be  so  conducted,  as  that,  were 
it  possible  for  us  to  revise  them  a  century  hence,  when  all  the 
passions  of  the  moment  shall  have  been  forgotten,  (however  our 
knowledge  may  have  been  increased  or  our  views  rectified,)  we 


72  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

should  not  have  occasion  to  bkish  for  the  spirit  manifested,  or  to 
expunge  a  sentence  on  account  of  its  unchristian  tendency.  And 
though  so  complete  a  victory  over  passion,  provocation  and  infir- 
mity, is  rather  to  be  desired  than  expected,  we  shall  anxiously 
strive  to  obtain  it"* 

After  the  experience  of  three  years,  he  adverted  to  this  particu- 
lar topic  in  the  following  terms  : 

"  Among  the  duties  which  devolve  on  writers  for  religious  publi- 
cations, those  which  relate  to  the  treatment  of  adversaries  are 
probably  the  most  difficult.  As  we  have  never  yet  learnt  from 
Scripture,  experience,  or  observation,  that  all  the  different  schemes 
of  religion  have  an  equal  claim  to  be  treated  with  deference  and 
respect,  we  cannot  hesitate  to  believe,  that  many  pernicious  errors 
actually  exist  in  this  country ;  errors  which  materially  afi'ect  the 
very  foundations  of  Christian  doctrine  ;  errors  which,  if  cordially 
embraced,  must  prove  fatal  to  the  souls  of  men.  Nor  can  we  hesi- 
tate to  believe,  that  these  errors  are  zealously  propagated  from  the 
press  and  the  pulpit ;  and  that,  in  some  instances,  men  set  apart 
as  the  guides  of  their  fellow  sinners  in  the  way  to  heaven,  lead  them 
in  the  downward  road  to  perdition.  How  are  writers  and  preachers 
of  this  class  to  be  treated  ?  is  the  question.  The  rules  which  have 
appeared  to  us  most  important,  and  altogether  defensible,  are 
briefly  as  follows : 

"  First ;  it  should  be  regarded  as  a  fundamental  canon,  not  to 
judge  more  unfavorably  of  any  religious  doctrine,  than  the  Scrip- 
tures authorize  and  require  us  to  judge.  We  allow  no  human 
authority  in  matters  of  faith.  What  the  word  of  God  condemns, 
it  is  the  duty  of  Christians  to  condemn  ;  but  nothing  more.  We 
are  no  advocates  for  drawing  the  bonds  of  fellowship  closer  than 
God  has  drawn  them ;  nor  for  inventing  stricter  rules  of  conduct 
than  He  has  given.  In  construing  the  Scriptures,  and  searching 
after  their  genuine  meaning,  the  utmost  candor,  fairness  and  rev- 
erence are  to  be  exhibited;  but  when  that  meaning  is  satisfac- 
torily ascertained,  it  is  too  serious  a  thing  to  be  yielded  out  of 
complaisance,  or  concealed  from  view  for  fear  of  reproach  and 
obloquy.  It  is  to  be  avowed,  proclaimed  and  defended,  with  all 
possible  zeal. 

"  Secondly;  in  controversies  with  the  enemies  of  the  tmth,  the 
law  of  love  is  never  to  be  transgressed.  Christ  has  made  it  the 
duty  of  his  followers  to  love  all  men.  A  real  and  earnest  desire 
of  the  present  and  future  good  of  an  opponent  is  perfectly  consistent 
with  the  persuasion  that  he  is  in  extreme  error,  and  in  the  way  to 
ruin.  Indeed,  the  fact  that  any  human  being  is  in  such  error, 
ought  to  awake  a  desire  that  he  may  be  delivered  from  it,  and  will 
imiformly  do  so,  in  hearts  under  the  permanent  influence  of  religion. 
To  ascertain  whether  a  writer  is  really  possessed  of  this  benevo- 

*  Panoplist,  vol.  6,  p.  5. 


LIFE    OF   EVARTS.  73 

lent  regard  to  his  adversaries,  whom  he  apprehends,  at  the  same 
time,  to  be  the  adversaries  of  the  truth,  let  him  answer  to  his  own 
satisfaction  tlie  following  questions.  If  the  person  whom  I  am  now 
particularly  opposing  were  my  brother;  had  we  been  educated  to- 
gether in  a  fatlier's  house  ;  or  were  he  a  son,  whose  salvation  had 
been  near  my  heart  ever  since  his  birth  ;  should  I  not  soften  the 
expressions  which  offer  themselves  to  my  pen  ?  If  I  answer  in 
the  affirmative,  is  it  because,  in  the  case  supposed,  my  natural 
affection  is  stronger,  than,  in  the  real  case,  my  benevolent  regard 
to  an  immortal  being  ?  Should  I  be  able  to  read  what  I  am 
writing  to  my  opponent  in  private,  without  feeling  the  slightest 
disposition  to  anger  on  the  one  hand,  or  the  slightest  degree  of 
compunction  on  the  other?  If  not;  Why?  Ami  able  to  say, 
with  a  solemn  reference  to  God,  the  Judge  of  all,  and  to  the  day 
of  final  retribution.    This  pape  was  tonttenin  love  to  mankind? 

If  all  writers  would  faithfully  pursue  inquiries  of  this  kind, 
it  is  manifest  that  the  race  of  Warburtons  and  Belshams  would 
soon  become  extinct."* 


At  the  end  of  eleven  years,  when  the  warmth  of  the  conflict 
was  over,  and  time  had  been  afforded  to  review  calmly  all  that 
had  been  written,  in  closing  his  duties  as  editor  of  the  Panoplist, 
he  speaks  of  this,  the  most  difficult  and  painful  part  of  his  editorial 
labors,  as  follows  : 

"  In  reviewing  our  work,  we  have  endeavored  to  place  before 
the  mind  all  the  considerations  which  serve  to  explain  or  enforce 
the  great  responsibility  of  one  who  writes  for  the  public.  How 
much  we  are  deceived  as  to  our  motives  or  our  object,  it  is  not  in 
onx  own  power,  or  that  of  any  human  tribunal,  exactly  to  determine. 
We  can  declare,  however,  without  the  least  resei-ve,  that  we  have 
always  intended  to  act,  in  reference  to  every  thing  published  in 
our  pages,  with  entire  Christian  integrity,  so  far  as  we  have  been 
able  to  judge  of  our  motives.  When  the  case  required  it,  we  have 
given  great  deliberation  to  the  question  whether  we  should  ])ub- 
lish;  and  whether  the  manner,  as  well  as  the  matter,  could  be  jus- 
tified. Whenever  facts  have  been  stated,  or  opinions  with  respect 
to  facts  have  been  given,  the  most  satisfactory  evidence  has  been 
required.  We  know  not  that  the  Panoplist  has  ever  been  seriously 
assailed  except  by  those  who  class  themselves  under  the  general 
denomination  of  Unitarians.  By  them,  indeed,  the  inost  vehement 
charges  have  been  made.  Some  of  these  charges  have  been  re-' 
futecl  formally,  and  at  length.  For  the  consideration  of  others,  we 
have  had  no  time.  In  reference  to  all  these  charges,  we  are  sat- 
isfied that  an  impartial  judge  would  pronounce  them  without 
foundation. 

In  some  instances,  the  facts  which  we  had  asserted,  have  been 

*  Panoplist,  vol.  9,  pp.  2,  3. 

10 


74  LIFE   OF   EVARTS. 

denied ;  but,  in  no  instance,  that  we  can  recollect,  has  this  denial 
been  supported.  We  are  certain  that  no  case  of  intentional  mis- 
representation can  be  made  out  against  us,  because  no  such  case 
has  existed.  In  regard  to  those  passages,  in  our  various  controversies 
with  Unitarians,  which  were  thought  to  bear  hard  upon  individuals, 
we  can  aver,  that  they  were  written  from  considerations  of  a  pub- 
lic nature,  and  not  from  any  unkindness  to  the  persons  concerned, 
nor  any  wish  to  excite  unpleasant  feelings.  In  discharging  what 
we  deemed  to  be  a  serious  duty,  we  always  endeavored  to  take 
care,  that  no  individual,  and  no  party,  should  have  just  occasion  to 
complain  of  our  representations;  and  we  are  not  convinced,  that 
this  care  was  ever  insufficient,  or  ineffectual.  Harsh  and  violent 
things  have  been  said  of  our  work  and  our  motives  ;  but  we  har- 
bor no  resentments,  and  pray  that  we  and  our  opponents  may  view 
things  as  they  really  are,  and  as  they  will  be  viewed  when  every 
delusion  shall  cease,  and  unmixed  truth  shall  be  seen  and  ac- 
knowledged." 

"  We  should  not  have  mentioned  this  subject,  were  it  not  for  the 
plain  obligation,  which  rests  upon  every  writer,  to  retract  former 
opinions  or  assertions,  which  he  has  found  to  be  erroneous.  At 
the  close  of  this  work,  the  public  have  a  claim  to  know  what  we 
think  of  those  passages  which  have  been  particularly  obnoxious, 
and  on  which  the  lapse  of  years  has  enabled  us  to  form  a  delib- 
erate judgment.  After  the  general  declaration  of  upright  motives 
wliich  we  have  made,  we  would  by  no  means  intimate  that  we 
have  ever  thought  ourselves  exempt  from  the  influence  of  passion 
and  prejudice.  To  these  causes  of  error  we  have  doubtless  been 
more  or  less  exposed;  but  we  have  attempted  to  guard  against 
them,  and  hope  they  have  not  operated  to  any  very  injurious  extent. 

"The  present  Editor  has  superintended  the  publication  of  the  last 
eleven  volumes.  Much  of  the  original  matter  was  written  by 
himself,  and  for  nearly  all  the  rest  he  avows  the  fullest  responsibil- 
ity."* 

But  his  attention,  as  an  editor,  was  by  no  means  confined  to  sub- 
jects strictly  religious.  He  took  a  lively  interest  in  whatever 
affected  the  well  being  of  his  fellow  men.  His  professional  studies 
and  pursuits  in  early  manhood  had  given  him  habits  in  this  respect 
that  were  kept  up  through  life.  He  studied  society,  and  all  the 
relations  of  social,  civil,  and  political  life,  in  the  spirit  of  the 
Hebrew  prophets,  in  whose  writings 

Is  plainest  taught,  and  easiest  learnt, 

"What  makes  a  nation  happy,  and  keeps  it  so. 

According  to  his  views  of  political  economy,  it  was  of  little 
consequence  whether  the  wealth  of  a  community  was  represented 

*Panoplist,.  vol.  16,  p.  iv. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  75 

by  a  few  figures  more  or  less,  except  as  higher  interests  might  be 
affected  by  it. 

It  was  in  1810,  during  the  first  year  of  his  editorship,  that  he 
began  to  direct  the  public  mind  to  the  prevalence  o(  intemperance. 
The  Panoplist  for  October  of  that  year  contained  an  article  from 
his  pen,  entitled  "  Arithmetic  applied  to  Moral  Purposes,"  which 
developes  the  principle  of  ten  thousand  essays  and  addresses  on 
the  subject,  that  have  since  been  published.  He  had  by  some 
means  learned  pretty  accurately  the  cost  of  the  ardent  spirit  con- 
sumed in  a  country  town  in  New  England  in  one  year.*  It 
would  puzzle  a  fiend,  he  remarks,  to  tell  how  this  sum  could  pro- 
mote worse  purposes  ;  and  he  proceeds  to  show  what  might  be 
done  with  it  in  salutary  expenditures, — such  as  social  libraries,  and 
libraries  for  ministers  of  the  Gospel— the  improvement  of  common 
schools,  and  of  roads  and  bridges — the  relief  and  encouragement 
of  the  poor  and  unfortunate — and  the  various  purposes  of  Chris- 
tian charity.  The  subject  was  resumed  a  few  months  after,  for 
the  purpose  of  exhibiting  more  in  detail  the  various  direct  and  in- 
direct losses  that  are  involved  in  the  expenditure  of  a  given  sum 
for  intoxicating  drinks.  So  far  as  the  economical  view  of  the 
subject  is  concerned,  what  has  since  been  published  in  so  many 
forms  is  little  else  than  the  further  developement  and  illustration 
of  the  principles  exhibited  in  these  essays. 

In  June,  1811,  soon  after  the  publication  of  the  second  of  these 
articles,  he  was  appointed,  by  the  General  Association  of  Massa- 
chusetts, on  a  committee  "  to  co-operate  with  committees  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  and  of  the  General 
Association  of  Connecticut,  in  devising  measures  which  may  have 
an  influence  in  preventing  some  of  the  numerous  and  threatening 
mischiefs  that  are  experienced  throughout  our  country  from  the 
excessive  and  intemperate  use  of  spirituous  liquors."  Of  this 
Committee  the  Rev.  Samuel  Worcester,  D.  D.,  was  chairman, 
and  ]Mr.  Evarts  clerk.  The  Committee  held  several  meetings 
and  instituted  extensive  investigations,  the  results  of  which  were 
reported  to  the  Association  the  next  year.     Among  the  measures 

*  The  statement  was  ten  thousand  gallons,  which  cost  the  consumers  ten  thousand 
dollars,  in  a  population  of  two  thousand  souls.  It  was  not  supposed  to  be  a  town  dis- 
tinguished beyond  most  others  for  this  vice. 


76  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

suggested  in  this  report  were,  the  formation  of  voluntary  Associa- 
tions, the  employment  of  laborers  without  furnishing  ardent  spirits, 
and  the  collection  and  publication  of  facts  ;  and  it  was  suggested 
whether  it  might  not  be  a  duty  entirely  to  abstain  from  the  use  of 
ardent  spirits,  "  unless  really  and  avowedly  as  a  medicine."  These 
proceedings  led  to  the  formation  of  the  Massachusetts  Society  for  the 
Suppression  of  Intemperance  the  next  year, — a  society  which,  if  it 
did  not  effect  all  that  was  desired  and  expected,  and  even  fiiiled 
of  seizing  on  the  most  efficient  principle  of  reformation,  was  yet 
the  means  of  incalculable  good  to  the  community,  and  will  always 
deserve  grateful  mention  among  the  agencies  to  which  we  owe  the 
preservation  of  the  public  morals  in  their  present  healthful  state. 
At  the  organization  of  this  society,  Mr.  Evarts  was  chosen  one  of 
the  counsellors.  He  continued  to  keep  the  subject  before  the 
public  by  means  of  the  Panoplist,  and  always  took  an  active  part 
in  all  the  subsequent  movements  for  the  promotion  of  the  cause. 

Other  evils  that  afflict  makind  were  investigated  in  the  same 
spirit.  Soon  after  he  assumed  the  editorship,  he  commenced  a 
series  of  articles  "  on  Human  Depravity,"  which  furnished  op- 
portunity to  discuss  such  subjects  with  great  effect.  Among  the 
topics  touched  upon,  war  was  one,  constituting  the  subject  of  an 
entire  paper.  The  following  paragraph  exhibits  the  train  of 
thought : 

"  War  is  generally,  and  justly,  thought  to  be  the  greatest  calam- 
ity which  afflicts  and  desolates  this  miserable  world.  Noth- 
ing else  presents  such  a  terrible  combination  of  crimes  and 
miseries.  Nothing  else  gives  such  a  complete  destruction  to  the 
social  enjoyment,  the  pursuits,  and  the  hopes  of  all  those  who' 
come  within  the  sphere  of  its  immediate  influence.  No  other 
employment  comes  so  near  uniting  the  character  of  a  fiend  with 
that  of  a  beast  of  prey.  No  other  calamity  leaves  behind  such 
indelible  marks  of  its  malignant  influence.  Earthquakes  and 
volcanoes,  pestilence  and  famine,  bring  their  peculiar  evils  ;  but  a 
great  consolation  in  these  cases  is,  that  the  evils  are  not  volunta- 
rily inflicted  by  man  upon  his  fellow-man  and  himself.  In  war, 
on  the  contrary,  man  is  necessarily  the  guilty  cause.  It  is  almost 
too  plain  to  be  stated,  that  war  can  never  exist  without  great  and 
aggravated  guilt.  Yet  with  all  the  horrors  and  cruelties  which 
attend  its  progress,  and  all  the  desolation  and  ruin  which  univer- 
sally march  in  its  train,  war  is,  and  ever  has  been,  the  favorite 
pursuit  of  man. 


LIFE    OF  EVART3.  77 

"  The  spirit  which  commanders  admire  in  the  soldiers  under 
their  direction,  is  at  the  farthest  possible  remove  from  a  good,  kind 
and  benevolent  disposition.  It  consists  of  a  stupid  contempt  of 
death,  a  proud  contempt  of  the  enemy,  a  boastful  reliance  on  their 
own  strength,  and  several  other  ingredients  equally  at  variance 
with  Christianity.  It  is  a  spiiit,  not  created  by  the  eloquence  of 
the  leader,  but  natively  existing,  and  always  ready  to  be  operated 
upon.  Suppose  an  array  to  be  wholly  composed  of  such  men  as 
David  Brainerd  or  Richard  Baxter,  I  do  not  mean  as  to  talents, 
but  as  to  the  state  of  moral  feelings  ;  let  thera  all  have  the  same 
humility,  meekness,  patient  submission  to  injuries,  the  same  love 
of  truth  and  justice,  the  same  concern  for  the  salvation  of  souls, 
the  same  desire  to  lessen  human  misery,  and  to  promote  universal 
love  and  happiness,  the  same  compassion  for  sinners,  the  same 
solemn  views  of  death,  and  the  same  fear  of  God,  which  distin- 
guished these  eminent  saints  ;  and  let  their  commander,  a  Marius, 
or  a  Caesar,  undertake  to  address  them.  How  would  he  find  ac- 
cess to  their  feelings  ?  How  would  he  make  them  understand  his 
arguments  ?  Or  if  we  suppose  one  of  the  armies  led  by  these 
scourges  of  mankind,  to  have  been  suddenly  transformed,  by  a 
mighty  Divine  influence,  into  men  of  the  character  above  des- 
cribed, how  wOuld  their  commander  be  surprised  when  he  should 
next  call  them  together.  He  would  perceive  that  the  accustomed 
topics  of  military  eloquence  had  lost  their  effect.  As  he  descanted 
on  expected  plunder,  the  slaughter  of  foes,  vengeance  for  insults 
and  indignities,  the  glory  of  successful  valor,  and  other  subjects  of 
the  same  nature,  his  hearers,  instead  of  shouting,  "  Long  live  our 
general,"  would  view  their  employment  with  greater  and  greater 
abhorrence  as  the  speech  proceeded ;  and  the  speaker  could  not 
help  observing,  to  his  mortification  and  unspeakable  regret,  that 
the  strings  which  had  before  vibrated  to  his  touch,  had  now  unac- 
countably lost  their  tension." 

This  was  written  in  April,  1811.  The  Peace  Societies  have 
since  made  such  views — views  that  have  naturally  occurred  to 
individual  Christians  in  every  age — familiar  to  the  public.  Two 
years  later,  when  the  war  expenses  of  the  United  States  for  the 
year  amounted  to  forty  millions,  and  those  of  Great  Britain  to  four 
hundred  and  twenty  millions  of  dollars,  and  when  France  had 
twelve  hundred  thousand  men  under  arms,  the  subject  was  again 
taken  up,  in  two  articles  on  the  expenses  of  war,  and  on  the  good 
use  that  might  be  made  of  the  money  thus  expended.  The 
amount  of  the  estimate,  for  the  Christian  world  in  that  most  ex- 
pensive year,  was  ^3,235,000,000, — including  the  destruction  of 
individual  property  and  the  loss  of  productive  labor.     The  general 


78  LIFE   OF   EVARTS. 

view  of  the   high   purposes  which  that  sum,  otherwise  employed, 
might  accomplish,  is  shown  in  the  following  paragraphs  : 

"  Let  us  imagine,  then,  that  all  the  armed  men  in  the  Christian 
world,  on  the  10th  of  Sept.  1813,  and  all  their  attendants,  and  all 
their  employers,  had  been  suddenly  changed  in  their  moral  char- 
acter, and  become  so  thoroughly  transformed,  as  to  do  justly,  and 
to  love  mercy,  and  to  ivalk  humbly  ivith  their  God.  It  is  very  clear, 
that  hostilities  would  have  immediately  ceased ;  all  the  armies 
would  have  returned  to  their  respective  countries  ;  and  by  the  first 
of  January  1814,  those  who  had  been  engaged  only  in  war  and 
violence,  would  be  ready  to  enter  upon  the  useful  and  profitable 
labors  of  life. 

Let  us  imagine  further,  that  the  people  of  all  Christian  nations 
were  willing  to  make  as  great  pecuniary  sacrifices,  for  a  single 
year,  with  a  view  to  promote  the  temporal  and  eternal  good  of  their 
fellow  creatures,  as  they  made  the  year  preceding,  in  carrying  on 
offensive  and  defensive  war;  and  we  shall  find,  that  a  permanent 
fund  would  be  raised,  which,  at  six  per  cent,  interest,  would  produce 
$194,100,000,  annually." 

"  I  do  not  say,  that  it  would  be  wise  to  raise  such  a  fund  ;  but 
only  that  such  sacrifices  as  have  been  specified,  icould  do  it.  It 
would  certainly  be  wise  however,  for  Christian  nations  to  exert 
themselves  on  a  grand  scale,  and  in  their  national  capacities,  for 
the  promulgation  of  the  Gospel  and  the  civilization  of  mankind." 

"  But  to  return  :  if  wars  were  to  cease,  never  to  be  renewed  by 
nations  called  Christian,  and  mankind  were  universally  convinced 
of  the  fact,  the  avails  of  the  present  systems  of  taxation,  after  the 
single  year  above  mentioned,  might  be  almost  wholly  devoted  to 
the  extinguishment  of  the  war  debts,  which  now  press  iipon  many 
nations  with  enormous  weight.  To  the  same  purpose  might  be 
apphed  whatever  could  be  derived  from  the  sale  of  the  brass,  the 
iron,  the  steel,  &c.  &c.,  which  is  now  in  various  kinds  of  arms,  but 
which  might  be  converted  to  useful  purposes.  The  materials  of 
fortifications,  which  Avould  be  demolished,  might  be  sold  to  be  con- 
verted into  dwelling  houses  ;  arsenals  might  be  rented  for  com- 
mercial ware-houses  ;  ships  of  war  might  be  converted  into  shijis 
of  trade  ;  and  every  war-like  preparation  might  answer  some  val- 
uable end,  and  contribute  to  the  wealth  and  comfort  of  the  pubhc. 
The  least  valuable  could  be  used  for  fuel,  and  thus  the  words  of 
Scripture  would  be  fulfilled  by  burning  the  chariot  with  fire.  It  is 
reasonable,  that  those  walls  which  have  been  erected  by  the  toils 
of  ten  or  twenty  successive  generations,  which  have  been  moist- 
ened with  the  sweat  and  cemented  with  the  blood  of  unhappy 
millions,  should  be  made  to  alleviate  the  national  burdens.  There 
would  be  an  immense  saving  of  productive  labor  to  every  nation  ;  so 
that,  in  these  various  ways,  every  national  debt  might  be  discharged 
in  a  few  years." 

"  While  this  process  was  going  on,  the  mternal  condition  of 
every  nation  would  be  receiving  great  and  unexampled  improve- 


LIFE    OF   EVARTS.  79 

ments.  Schools  would  be  everywhere  supported  ;  the  children  of 
the  poor  would  everywhere  be  educated  ;  churches  would  everj''- 
whcre  be  erected  ;  the  Sabbath  would  everywhere  shine  with  a 
glorious  effulgence,  and,  as  often  as  it  returned,  would  be  a  day  of 
joy  and  salvation  to  assembled  myriads.  The  writer  of  these  re- 
flections has  been  assured  by  a  gentleman  who  travelled  all  over 
England  about  the  year  1792,  and  again  about  twenty  years  after- 
wards, that  the  progress  of  internal  improvement  in  that  kingdom 
within  twenty  years  is  amazing,  and  vastly  exceeds  the  increase 
of  her  external  commerce.  This  statement  may  be  depended  on, 
as  the  gentleman  travelled,  in  the  first  instance,  to  use  his  own 
expression,  '  with  a  young,  inquiring  eye,'  and,  in  the  second,  he 
went  over  the  same  ground  with  a  particular  view  to  make  a  com- 
parison. If  this  is  the  fact,  notwithstanding  the  pressure  of  ex- 
ternal war,  how  much  more  rapid  and  extensive  would  be  the 
progress  in  a  time  of  profound  peace,  and  when  all  the  vast  re- 
sources of  the  kingdom  should  be  gi-adually  withdrawn  from  their 
destination,  as  the  public  debt  melted  like  snow  under  an  April 
sun." 

"  As  the  liberated  resources  of  every  nation  would  abundantly 
suffice  for  every  domestic  improvement,  and  would  meliorate  the 
condition  of  the  people  in  relation  to  temporal  things  and  spiritual 
privileges,  let  us  suppose  the  income  from  the  permanent  fund, 
raised  by  the  saving  of  one  years  ivar  expenses,  to  be  devoted  solely 
to  the  promulgation  of  the  Gospel  among  the  heathen  nations,  and 
nations  partly  heathen.  And  surely  it  is  not  unreasonable,  that 
men  should  make  such  a  sacrifice  for  such  an  object.  It  is  now 
more  than  eighteen  hundred  years  since  the  hymn  of  the  angels 
was  heard  in  Bethlehem,  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth 
peace,  good  will  toivards  men.  The  full  import  of  this  hymn  will 
hereafter  be  understood  by  mankind.  As  to  the  past,  men  have 
always  devoted  the  best  of  their  resources,  their  wealth,  their 
talents,  to  the  arts  of  war.  Every  year  since  any  nation  has 
become  nominally  Christian,  has  seen  the  prime  of  everything  de- 
voted either  to  actual  war,  to  a  preparation  for  it,  or  to  repair  the 
breaches  which  war  had  made.  It  is  time  that  men  had  found 
out  that  war  is  not  the  way  to  happiness  ;  let  them  pursue  a  dif- 
ferent plan;  let  them  become  faithful  subjects  of  the  Prince  of 
peace,  and  use  all  their  efforts  to  extend  his  dominion." 

In  regard  to  slavery  his  feelings  were  deeply  enlisted  ;  and  es- 
pecially while  the  Missouri  Question  was  before  Congress,  he  dis- 
cussed the  subject  at  length  and  with  great  earnestness.  He  had 
not  only  thought  much  of  slavery,  considered  according  to  the 
theory  of  it  ;  but  he  had  observed  its  actual  character  and  influ- 
ences, and  could  speak  with  the  more  confidence  and  discrimina- 
tion from  having  become  personally  acquainted  with  the  system. 
Many  slave-holders  he  numbered  among  his   personal  friends,  and 


80  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

for  many  others  he  cherished  feelings  of  the  sincerest  respect  and 
confidence.  He  could  recognize  exalted  worth  as  readily  in  South 
Carolina  as  in  Massachusetts  ;  and  to  indulge  in  indiscriminate 
tirades  against  all  the  members  of  a  slaveholding  community  was 
equally  abhorrent  to  his  judgment  and  his  feelings.  The  extracts 
from  his  articles  on  this  subject,  here  inserted,  will  suffice  to  show 
his  views  and  feelings  in  regard  to  American  slavery  and  its  re- 
moval, and  in  what  temper  he  conducted  the  discussion.  The 
subject  was  introduced  by  the  following  remarks  : 

"  We  invite  the  attention  of  our  readers  to  a  few  remarks  on  the 
greatest  question  which  will  probably  come  before  the  as- 
sembled council  of  our  nation  during  the  present  century.  The 
declaration  of  war,  tremendous  as  that  evil  is  to  immense  multi- 
tudes, and  disastrous  as  its  consequences  are  to  the  community  at 
large,  is  yet  a  very  limited  and  temporary  calamity,  if  compared 
with  any  measure  which  tends  to  perpetuate  slavery,  ignorance 
and  vice,  among  a  large  class  of  our  fellow-creatures  and  count- 
less myriads  of  their  descendants.  That  the  permission  of  slavery 
in  the  new  state  of  Missouri  is  such  a  measure,  we  do  not  assert, 
at  the  commencement  of  our  observations.  That  this  is  believed 
to  be  its  character  by  many  judicious,  dispassionate,  candid  men, 
who  have  no  personal,  private,  or  political  interest  in  the  question, 
is  undeniable ;  and  this  is  sufficient  to  warrant  the  discussion. 
Besides,  the  subject  involves  questions  of  national  morality; — 
questions  on  which  our  character  as  a  just,  magnanimous,  humane 
and  Christian  people,  will  much  depend.  On  such  questions,  it  is 
the  right  and  the  duty  of  every  man  to  express  his  thoughts  boldly, 
though  temperately,  and  with  none  but  kind  feelings  towards 
those,  who  soberly  and  conscientiously  differ  from  him." 

"  Let  us  here  say,  to  those  of  our  southern  brethren  who  may  cast 
their  eyes  on  these  pages,  that  we  would  by  no  means  counte- 
nance the  habit  of  bringing  local  prejudices  to  bear  upon  discussions 
like  the  present.  Much  less  would  we  tolerate  reproachful  lan- 
guage, as  used  against  the  southern  states,  on  account  of  the  mere 
existence  of  slavery  there.  On  the  contrary,  the  whole  business 
ought  to  be  conducted  with  an  enlarged  reference  to  the  perma- 
nent good  of  the  whole  union,  and  with  particular  reference  to  the 
permanent  security  of  the  southern  people,  and  the  gradual  im- 
provement of  the  condition  of  the  black  population.  So  far  as 
local  considerations  should  have  any  weight,  they  should  constrain 
the  assembled  representatives  of  the  people,  and  every  writer  and 
speaker  on  the  subject,  to  consult  with  peculiar  tenderness  and 
solicitude,  the  e;reat  interests  of  those  parts  of  our  country,  where 
slavery  now  exists.  This  may  be  done  with  little  apprehension  ; 
for,  unless  we  are  entirely  deceived,  the  great  interest  of  the  whole 
imion  will  be  best  promoted,  in  reference  to  this  subject,  by  the 


LIFE    OF   EVARTS.  Qj 

very  measures,  wliich  will  exert  a  permanently  salutary  influence 
on  the  southern  states." 

"  It  may  be  well  to  premise  here,  that  slavery  is  universally  ad- 
mitted to  be,  as  Judge  Washington  has  well  expressed  it,  an  in- 
herent vice  in  any  community,  where  it  exists.  We  should  not 
wish  to  use  stronger  language  concerning  it,  than  has  been  used 
by  Mr.  Jefferson,  himself  a  native  and  inhabitant  of  a  slave-holding 
state,  and  the  possessor  of  numerous  slaves.  Few  abler  arguments 
have  been  made,  and  few  more  eloquent  appeals  been  delivered,  in 
behalf  of  the  blacks  of  our  southern  country,  than  were  heard  in  the 
Legislature  of  South  Carolina,  about  a  year  since,  from  one  of  the 
Charleston  members.  There  are,  in  the  slave-holding  states,  gen- 
tlemen of  great  worth  and  respectability,  whose  hearts  are 
deeply  engaged  in  the  design  of  mitigating  the  evils  of  slavery, 
and  in  preparing  the  way  for  its  gradual  abolition.  May  the  bles- 
sing of  the  Almighty  rest  upon  them,  give  them  wisdom,  zeal,  and 
perseverance,  and  crown  their  labors  with  success." 

After  touching  upon  a  few  other  topics,  the  importance  of  the 
question  is  again  adverted  to  : 

"  The  people  of  this  country  do  not  seem  to  be  sufficiently  aware 
of  the  immense  multitudes  of  persons,  both  freemen  and  slaves, 
whose  condition  is  to  be  affected  by  the  present  measures.  When 
we  speak  of  the  future  population  of  our  country,  its  greatness 
seems  incredible,  merely  because  the  subject  is  new,  and  because 
the  world  has  never  before  seen  the  rise  of  such  an  empire  :  at 
least,  history  has  brought  down  to  us  no  memorial  of  such  an  em- 
pire, as  will  probably  exist,  a  century  hence,  between  the  Rocky 
Mountains  and  the  Atlantic.  No  reasonable  man  can  see  why  our 
whole  country,  on  an  average,  should  not  be  as  populous  as  Mas- 
sachusetts Proper  now  is.  For  ourselves,  we  believe  it  will  be 
much  more  populous.  Nor  can  any  man  assign  a  cause,  why 
population  should  not  advance  for  a  hundred  years  to  come,  as  it  has 
done  for  a  hundred  years  past.  Should  that  be  the  case,  in  seventy 
years  from  this  day,  the  people  within  the  present  limits  of  our  coun- 
try will  amount  to  eighty  millions  ;  of  whom  about  thirteen  millions 
will  be  slaves,  on  the  supposition  that  slaves  increase  in  the  same 
ratio  as  the  whole  population.  The  free  colored  people  will,  at  that 
period,  probably  not  be  fewer  than  two  millions, — making  a  black 
population  of  fifteen  milHons,  exclusive  of  the  slaves  who  may  be 
unlawfully  imported  into  the  United  States  within  the  same  pe- 
riod ;  and  who,  with  their  descendants,  will  probably  amount  to  two 
millions,  and  may  greatly  surpass  that  number.  It  is  quite  within 
the  limits  of  possibility,  that  the  child  now  in  his  cradle  may  be 
president  of  the  United  States,  when  this  amazing  augmentation 
of  our  numbers  shall  have  actually  taken  place  ;  and  the  close  of 
the  present  century  may  leave  within  our  borders  one  hundred 
millions  of  human  beings  to  enter  upon  the  cares  and  duties  of 
the  next  age.     Ought  this  consideration  to  be  disregarded,  on  so 

11 


82  LIFE   OF   EVARTS. 

momentous  a  question  as  that  of  freedom  and  slavery  ?  How- 
cautious  should  be  the  legislator  at  the  present  day,  lest  his  im- 
providence, or  his  compliance  with  selfish  importunities,  or  his  re- 
sort to  temporary  expediency,  should  justly  expose  his  memory  to 
the  bitter  reproaches  of  countless  millions  yet  to  be  bom  ? 

The  discussion  is  concluded  with  the  following  remarks  : 

"  In  some  of  the  preceding  remarks  it  has  been  intimated  that 
slaves  experience  oppression  at  the  hands  of  their  masters.  We 
very  well  know  that  our  southern  brethren  feel  acutely  the  least 
intimation  of  this  sort.  We  cheerfully  admit,  that  there  are  many 
humane,  kind,  and  benevolent  persons,  among  the  possessors  of 
slaves ;  that  some  consult  not  only  the  temporal,  but  the  spiritual 
good  of  their  slaves,  with  great  solicitude  ;  and  that  slaves,  in  the 
United  States  are  better  treated  than  in  most  other  places  where 
they  are  found.  But  would  our  southern  brethren  wish  to  be 
slaves  themselves,  even  to  the  kindest  and  most  benevolent  mas- 
ters within  their  knowledge  ?  Would  they  consent  that  their 
children  should  be  slaves,  even  to  such  masters  ?  What  then 
shall  be  said  of  the  grasping  miser,  and  the  domestic  tyrant? 
Does  any  man  love  his  neighbor  as  himself,  when  he  willingly 
intrusts  his  neighbor  to  the  unrestrained  will  of  such  a  master? 
Are  we  yet  to  learn  that  unlimited  power  is  always  abused  by  the 
depraved  children  of  Adam  ?  Are  we  required  to  believe,  that  a 
constant,  all-pervading  miracle  is  wrought  in  behalf  of  the  unde- 
fended, secluded,  unheeded  descendants  of  Africa  ?  We  have 
no  inclination  to  go  into  particulars  ;  but  we  owe  it  to  truth  and 
the  cause  of  fhumanity,  to  declare,  that  the  worst  accounts  of  slav- 
ery and  its  consequences,  that  have  ever  come  to  our  knowledge, 
have  either  been  the  relations  of  facts  so  public  as  to  be  unques- 
tionable, or  have  proceeded  directly  from  the  mouths  of  respecta- 
ble slave-holders  themselves.  We  heard  such  a  slave-holder 
observe,  with  great  deliberation  and  solemnity,  that  when  the  his- 
tory of  human  crimes  shall  be  recited  to  the  astonished  universe, 
slavery  will  form  the  most  dreadful  chapter,  not  excepting  even 
war.     This  is  a  serious  subject ;  and  it  will  be  found  so  in  the  end. 

"  Let  us  imagine  an  intelligent  traveller,  some  fifty  years  hence, 
passing  through  the  western  country.  In  the  States  of  Ohio,  In- 
diana, and  Illinois,  he  finds  a  vigorous,  healthy,  industrious  popu- 
lation ;  a  land  of  cultivated  farms,  thriving  villages,  and  populous 
towns,  inhabited  by  freemen  only ;  an  ample  domain,  tilled  in 
small  portions  by  the  lords  of  the  soil,  abundant  in  its  productions, 
and  almost  boundless  in  its  resources.  Every  individual  has  the 
disposal  of  his  own  time,  the  employment  of  his  own  faculties ; 
and  is,  in  short,  his  own  master.  Here  is  no  hereditary  degrada- 
tion ;  no  exclusion  from  the  rights  of  men  and  of  citizens.  Here 
is  but  one  code  of  laws,  enacted  by  the  common  voice,  and  admin- 
istered for  the  common  protection.  The  village  school  is  open  to 
every  child  ;  and  every  child  learns  to  read  his  Bible.  The  village 
sanctuary  is  open  to  every  immortal  being ;  and  not  an  individual 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  g3 

is  restrained  from  worshipping  God  whenever  and  wherever  he 
thinks  proper,  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  own  conscience. 
Here  every  man  goes  where  he  pleases,  without  suspicion,  inter- 
rogation, or  notice.     All  feel  safe,  for  all  are  brethren. 

"  Our  traveller  crosses  the  Mississippi.  Everything  is  changed. 
With  indications  of  wealth,  and  power,  and  splendor,  are  inter- 
mixed tokens  of  poverty,  indolence,  and  hopeless  depression. 
One  half  of  the  people  are  masters,  and  the  other  half  are  slaves. 
The  extensive  plantation  removes  the  opulent  land-holder,  with 
his  sable  retinue,  from  the  inspection  of  the  public,  and  from  all 
responsibility  to  human  laws.  Half  the  people  are  at  their  birth 
excluded  from  all  possibility  of  sharing  in  civil  or  political  rights. 
Their  time,  their  earnings,  their  faculties,  their  children,  their  bod- 
ies, and,  in  a  very  important  sense,  their  souls  too,  are  at  the  dis- 
posal of  others.  The  spring  of  industry  is  broken.  Confidence  is 
extinguished.  Labor  is  exacted  by  the  dread  of  punishment  alone. 
Two  codes  of  law  are  established — one  for  freemen,  the  other  for 
slaves.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  slaves  have  no  voice  in  making 
laws  for  their  own  government — laws  barbarous  in  their  enact- 
ments, inflicting  heavy  and  disgraceful  punishments  for  the  slight- 
est offences,  executed  in  the  most  capricious  manner,  and  giving 
very  inadequate  redi'ess  to  the  injured  subject.  Here  half  the 
children  are  not  permitted  to  learn  to  read ;  for  by  reading  they 
would  acquire  knowledge,  and  knowledge  is  power.  Knowledge 
they  must  not  possess  ;  for  they  would  re-print  our  Declaration  of 
Independence  in  characters  of  blood.  Of  course  they  can  never 
read  the  Bible,  that  choicest  gift  of  the  Almighty.  Nor  can  they 
worship  God,  except  at  the  will  of  a  master.  The  gospel  was  de- 
signed for  the  poor  especially ;  yet  many  of  these  people  are 
debarred  from  hearing  it,  though  they  are  poor  indeed.  Here  sus- 
picion, distrust,  and  fear  poison  all  enjoyment.  On  the  slightest 
alarm,  the  whole  community  is  in  trepidation,  lest  an  insurrection 
should  be  commencing.  When  the  bells  give  warning  of  fire,  the 
vigorous  part  of  the  free  population  hasten,  not  to  the  fire-engines, 
but  to  arms,  lest  the  occasion  should  be  seized  for  rapine,  murder, 
and  rebellion.  Every  corporate  town  is  busied,  in  proportion  to 
its  exposure,  in  devising  precautions  against  so  horrible  a  calamity 
as  a  servile  war.  In  one  place  it  is  ordained  that  no  slave  shall 
be  taught  to  read ;  and  that  any  charitable  individual  who  teaches 
a  slave  to  read  shall  be  liable  to  a  disgraceful  punishment :  in 
another,  that  slaves  shall  not  meet  for  public  worship,  except  in 
certain  specified  cases  :  in  a  third,  that  no  slave  shall  leave  his 
master's  inclosure,  except  with  a  written  permit,  which  describes 
the  time  of  absence,  and  the  distance  to  which  he  may  go :  in  a 
fourth,  that  no  slave  shall  carry  a  cane  in  his  hands,  as  he  walks 
the  street,  on  penalty  of  a  public  whipping :  in  a  fifth,  that  no 
slave  shall  speak  disrespectfully  to  any  white  man,  on  penalty  of 
fifteen  lashes,  to  be  inflicted  at  the  public  jail.* 

*  These  enactments  are  not  tlie  work  of  imagination  :  they  have  actually  been  es- 
tablished in  some  of  our  southern  cities.  What  reason  have  we  to  suppose  that 
they  will  not  be  re-enacted  hereafter  at  St.  Louis  and  St.  Charles  ? 


84  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

"  Onr  traveller  loses  all  patience.  He  expostulates  with  the 
people  on  their  unequal  laws,  their  heavy  punishment  of  small 
offences,  and  the  general  severity  of  their  slave-code.  The  only 
reply  is,  Our  blacks  must  he  kept  'under,  or  we  cannot  live  with  them. 
But,  he  rejoins,  do  you  not  lament  your  unhappy  condition?  In- 
deed we  do  ;  but  our  fathers  entailed  the  curse  of  slavery  upon  us, 
and  how  can  we  escape  from  it  ?  Some  few  benevolent  persons 
are  endeavoring  to  find  a  remedy  for  us  ;  but  they  are  regarded  as 
visionary  projectors.  The  general  opinion  is,  that  nothing  can  be 
done.  The  traveller  returns  to  the  land  of  freedom,  with  a  thank- 
ful heart  that  there  are  communities  in  which  equal  rights,  just 
laws,  and  universal  industry  secure  the  people  from  the  frightful 
calamities  wliich  press  upon  every  country  filled  with  slaves. 

"At  the  close  of  these  remarks  we  cannot  but  express  our  serious 
apprehension,  that  if  present  measures  should  be  persisted  in,  the 
issue  of  slavery  on  this  continent  will  be  more  disastrous  than  has 
ever  yet  been  imagined.  Before  the  number  of  slaves  in  North 
America  shall  amount  to  twenty  millions,  how  many  plots,  and 
murders,  and  massacres  will  have  taken  place  ?  How  much  blood 
will  have  been  shed  to  suppress  embryo  insurrections  ?  How  much 
vigilance  will  have  been  necessary  to  prevent  them  ?  How  many 
barbarous  enactments  will  have  found  their  place  in  the  slave 
codes  ?  How  much  cruel  suffering  is  to  be  endured  by  the  unhappy 
blacks  ;  how  much  agonizing  fear  by  the  more  unhappy  whites  ? 
And  the  time  will  probably  arrive  when  some  future  Spartacus 
will  muster  his  army  of  fugitives,  or  some  future  'J'ouissaint  en- 
throne himself  in  the  affections  of  his  brethren,  as  the  commence- 
ment of  an  intestine  convulsion  unparalleled  in  the  annals  of  this 
sinful  world.  The  thoughtless  may  care  nothing  about  these  pre- 
dictions. The  prejudiced  may  refuse  to  look  at  these  prospects. 
But  enlightened  legislators  can  have  no  excuse  for  neglecting  the 
wonderful  increase  of  the  blacks  in  our  country.  It  is  miserable 
policy  to  leave  the  mischief  untouched  till  it  becomes  unmanage- 
able. Miracles  are  not  to  be  expected  in  our  behalf.  If  wise, 
judicious,  public-spirited  measures  are  not  speedily  adopted  for  the 
improvement  of  the  blacks  and  the  gradual  abolition  of  slavery, 
our  rulers  must  go  upon  the  presumption  that  the  bondage  of  Afri- 
cans is  to  be  unlimited  and  perpetual.  But  unlimited  and  perpet- 
ual it  will  not  be.  Things  will  not  continue  as  they  now  are,  in 
this  respect,  to  the  end  of  the  world.  Black  men  will  at  last  be 
free ;  and  if  they  are  not  freed  by  kindness,  under  the  direction 
of  wisdom,  they  will  gain  their  liberty  by  violence,  at  the  instiga- 
tion of  revenge.  The  duration  of  sei-vitude  on  this  continent  will 
hardly  equal,  in  future,  the  time  during  which  it  has  existed  hith- 
erto. In  the  year  1620,  the  first  slave  ship  entered  the  waters  of 
Virginia.  At  the  very  time  when  the  tree  of  liberty  was  planted 
on  the  hills  of  New  England,  the  seeds  of  slavery  were  scattered 
in  the  plains  of  the  south.  Slavery  will  not  continue  here  two 
centuries  more — perhaps  not  one.  By  human  agency  it  is  to  be 
decided,  under  the  control  of  Divine  Providence,  whether  the 
emancipation  shall  be  peaceful,  or  demanded  by  force.     In  the 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 


85 


first  event  it  cannot  be  accomplished  without  great  care,  toil,  anx- 
iety, public  spirit,  and  many  sacrifices  ;  in  the  latter,  the  prospect 
is  too  awful  to  be  described  by  the  imagination.  There  is  every 
reason  to  fear  that,  according  to  the  usual  method  of  God's  admin- 
istration, the  country  must  experience  signal  visitations  of  retribu- 
tive justice.  Unless  the  prayers  of  the  pious,  the  labors  of  the 
philanthropic,  the  measures  of  genuine  patriotism,  and  the  re- 
straining energies  of  the  gospel,  conspire  to  arrest  the  threaten- 
ing calamity,  its  arrival  is  morally  certain.  That  such  a  holy  union 
as  we  have  just  adverted  to  may  take  place,  and  that  it  may  com- 
prise in  its  limits  the  north  and  the  south,  all  the  friends  of  God, 
of  their  countiy,  and  of  Africa,  is  our  sincere  prayer  and  continual 
desire. 

"  We  should  do  wrong  to  take  leave  of  our  readers  without  say- 
ing that  there  are  some  topics  of  consolation,  even  if  the  tide  of 
slavery  should  roll  westward  without  limits.  A  great  effort  has 
been  made  to  prevent  such  a  disastrous  event;  a  powerful  and 
united  testimony  has  been  borne,  throughout  a  large  part  of  our 
nation,  against  the  extension  of  slavery ;  reasons  have  been  urged, 
founded  in  the  eternal  principles  of  justice,  and  commending  them- 
selves to  the  dispassionate  judgment,  not  less  than  to  the  feeling 
heart ;  the  country  is  awake  to  the  dangers  of  slavery,  and,  it  may 
be  hoped,  will  not  fall  into  another  deathlike  slumber ;  all  benefi- 
cent enterprises,  at  the  present  day,  are  prospered  beyond  the  ex- 
pectations of  their  friends  ;  and  a  great  and  general  sympathy  is 
felt  for  the  blacks,  and  a  deep  interest  in  all  plans  for  the  improve- 
ment of  their  condition.  But  most  of  all  should  we  remember  that 
God  sometimes  effectuates  the  deliverance  of  the  oppressed  and 
unfriended,  in  a  manner  previously  never  imagined  by  men  ;  that 
He  often  averts  evil  consequences,  when  they  seem,  to  human 
minds,  unavoidable ;  and  that  even  the  wrath  of  man  shall  praise 
Him,  and  the  remainder  of  wrath  He  is  able  to  restrain." 

Some  months  after  the  decision  of  the  Missouri  Question  the 
subject  of  slavery  was  again  adverted  to,  the  necessity  of  discus- 
sion asserted,  and  the  manner  in  which  it  should  be  carried  on, 
described  : 

"  We  are  convinced,  after  very  serious  deliberation,  that  the 
general  subject  of  slavery  and  its  consequences  ought  to  be  kept 
before  the  eyes  of  the  American  people.  Unless  this  be  done,  no 
real  improvement  of  the  condition  of  the  blacks  in  the  United 
States  is  to  be  expected.  Abuses  never  voluntarily  cure  them- 
selves ;  nor  do  they  quietly  submit  to  exposure.  But  then-  very 
enormity  sometimes  provokes  and  compels  exposure,  and  thus 
hastens  a  correction,  and  prepares  the  way  for  a  final  remedy." 

"  Our  southern  brethren  are  extremely  irritable  on  the  subject 
of  slavery ;  and  are  apt  to  be  indignant,  if  any  thing  is  said  re- 
specting it  by  the  people  of  the  north.      We  could  most  gladly 


86 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 


wish  that  there  were  such  evidence  of  an  enhghtened,  humane, 
and  persevering  attention  to  the  improvement  of  the  blacks  in  the 
southern  regions  of  the  United  States,  as  would  justify  a  profound 
silence  on  the  part  of  the  northern  people.  But  during  the  forty- 
four  years  which  have  elapsed  since  our  nation  became  independ- 
ent, what  has  been  done  by  the  legislatures  of  Virginia,  the 
Carolinas,  and  Georgia,  to  elevate  the  character  of  the  blacks,  to 
secure  their  rights,  and  to  fit  them  to  become  ultimately  entitled  to 
all  the  privileges  of  men  and  citizens  ?  Let  the  statement  be  fairly 
made,  and  let  all  the  laws,  favorable  and  adverse  to  the  happiness 
of  the  slaves,  be  duly  considered :  it  will  then  appear  that  the  in- 
habitants of  the  non-slave-holding  states  ought  not  to  remain  silent, 
on  the  ground  that  the  southern  people  know  best  what  is  to  be  done 
and  that  they  are  doing  all  they  can  for  the  benefit  of  the  blacks. 
Unquestionably  the  people  at  the  north  would  not  be  able  to  legis- 
late wisely  and  judiciously,  with  respect  to  the  slaves  of  Car- 
olina. But  they  might  safely  adopt  some  general  principles  on 
the  subject.  They  might  be  able  to  say  positively  that  something 
ought  to  be  done.  They  might  without  hazard  assert  the  following 
positions  as  incontrovertible  :  viz.  That  slavery  is  an  unnatural 
state  of  society  ; — that  it  brings  with  it  innumerable  and  tremen- 
dous evils  ; — that  the  idea  of  a  perpetuation  of  slavery  in  a  coun- 
try claiming  to  be  free,  and  asserting  that  all  men  are  "  created 
equal,"  is  a  monstrous  anomaly ; — that  the  general  countenance  of 
such  an  idea  would  be  supremely  dishonorable  to  this  country ; — 
that  all  men  in  every  part  of  the  world  ought  to  be  taught  to  read 
the  Bible  ; — that  withholding  the  Bible  from  any  class  of  men, 
nnder  any  pretence  whatever,  is  unchristian,  and  a  daring  opposition 
to  the  will  of  the  Most  High  ; — that  the  blacks  of  our  country  ought 
to  be  immediately  furnished  with  the  means  of  religious  instruc- 
tion ; — that  the  most  persevering,  pubhc  spirited,  and  unremitted 
exertions  of  the  best  and  wisest  members  of  the  community  should 
be  applied  to  the  mitigation  and  gradual  abolition  of  slaveiy  ; — that 
no  time  is  to  be  lost  in  this  business  ; — that  the  sooner  the  work  is 
commenced  the  more  rapid  will  be  its  progress,  and  the  less  ardu- 
ous the  conflict  with  prejudice,  injustice  and  selfishness  ; — and  that 
no  dictate  of  religion,  or  of  an  enlightened  conscience,  will  permit 
a  benevolent  man  to  sit  down  contented  with  the  present  state  and 
prospects  of  the  negro  population  of  this  countiy." 

"  "What  then  is  to  be  done  ?  Let  the  people  be  informed  of  the 
nature  and  extent  of  the  evil,  without  exaggeration  and  without 
concealment.  Let  the  truth  be  kindly,  though  fearlessly  told.  Let 
the  plans  of  the  benevolent  be  submitted  for  consideration.  Let 
the  friends  of  Africa  and  her  sons  be  active  and  vigilant.  Let  there 
be  a  rallying  point  in  every  slave-holding  state,  at  which  the  friends 
of  liberty  and  of  equal  rights  shall  meet  for  the  expression  of  their 
opinions,  and  the  promotion  of  the  good  cause.  No  doubt  this 
process  will  excite  much  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  interested 
and  the  violent.  But  opposition  must  not  deter  from  duty.  How 
would  the  slave-trade  have  ever  been  abohshed  if  Mr.  Wilberforce 
and  his  friends  had  yielded  to  opposition  the  most  powerful,  the 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  87 

most  determined,  and  the  most  malignant  ?  The  friends  of  truth 
and  righteousness  never  yet  achieved  any  great  victory  without  a 
great  struggle." 

"  We  need  hardly  say,  that  this  cause  eminently  deserves  to  be 
conducted  with  prudence  and  caution.  No  statements  of  facts 
should  be  made  without  good  authority.  Large  classes  and  com- 
munities of  men  should  not  be  judged  by  the  excesses  of  a  few. 
Candid  allowances  should  be  made  for  the  effect  of  education  and 
habit.  Yet  the  fundamental  principles  of  freedom  should  never 
be  abandoned  ;  the  great  and  paramount  and  spiritual  interests  of 
immortal  beings  should  never  be  deserted." 

Extracts  from  the  slave-code  of  Virginia,  furnished  by  a  cor- 
respondent in  that  State,  were  embodied  in  this  article,  with  com- 
ments to  show  their  bearing.  Expressions  of  dissatisfaction  at  the 
South  soon  followed,  and  indeed  in  some  places  there  was  no 
small  stir  about  h.  It  was  said  that  the  Methodist  free  blacks  of 
Charleston  were  obliged  to  suspend  the  erection  of  a  chapel  in 
consequence.  In  reply  to  complaints  and  remonstrances,  another 
article  followed  in  November. 

"  We  consider  it  indeed,  one  of  the  darkest  signs,  as  to  the  fu- 
ture prospects  of  the  slave-holding  country,  that  a  vast  majority  of 
slave-holders,  as  we  fully  believe,  and  of  the  most  respectable 
slave-holders  too,  are  unwilling  that  the  subject  of  slavery  should 
be  publicly  discussed  in  any  manner,  or  in  any  place,  by  northern 
or  by  southern  people.  We  ask  the  most  candid  of  our  southern 
friends,  if  this  is  not  the  case?  And  this  being  the  case,  how  are 
any  general  measures  to  be  adopted  for  the  melioration  of  the  con- 
dition of  the  blacks  ?" 

"  The  time  must  come,  when  this  subject  shall  be  boldly  dis- 
cussed, no  matter  how  wisely  and  temperately,  but  still  boldly, 
even  in  the  southern  states,  or  the  time  of  deliverance  to  the  slave- 
holding  country  will  never  come.  It  would  be  better  undoubtedly, 
that  the  southern  people  should  take  the  lead  in  this  discussion  ; 
but  if  they  persevere  in  silence,  is  all  the  rest  of  the  world  bound 
to  be  silent  also  ?  There  is,  we  admit,  a  time  to  be  silent,  as  well 
as  a  time  to  speak ;  but  are  not  all  moral  agents,  who  have  the 
faculty  of  speaking  or  writing,  to  judge  on  their  own  responsibility, 
when  this  faculty  is  to  be  used?  We  beheve  that  the  southern 
people  generally  mistake  their  true  interests  in  this  momentous 
concern.  The  sooner  they  enter  publicly  and  avowedly  upon  the 
work  of  reformation,  the  more  easily  will  it  be  accomplished. 

"  If  quietly  going  to  sleep  would  cure  the  evil,  this  would  doubt- 
less be  the  easiest  way  ;  but  a  sluggish  acquiescence  in  any  abuse 
never  yet  removed  it,  especially  in  such  an  abuse  as  domestic  sla- 
very, and  one  so  closely  entwined  with  all  the  passions  and  inter- 
ests of  a  populous  community. 

"But  in  what  mamier    should  the  discussion  be  conducted? 


88  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

This  is  indeed  a  grave  question,  and  demands  serious  considera- 
tion. We  answer  generally  that  the  object  of  the  discussion 
should  be  to  do  good.  The  writers  and  speakers  should  feel  the 
subject  to  be  one  which  involves  the  interests  of  this  vast  conti- 
nent through  all  future  times.  They  should  utterly  discard  all 
sectional  prejudices  ;  at  least  this  should  be  their  constant  endeavor, 
though  it  is  not  reasonable  to  require  of  them  entire  exemption 
from  one  of  the  most  common  infirmities  of  men.  They  should 
feel  the  most  unmingled  Jiindness  for  those  who  are  afflicted  with 
slavery,  if  themselves  are  so  happy  as  to  be  exempt  from  it.  Es- 
pecially should  we  at  the  north  avoid,  both  in  feeling  and  expres- 
sion, everything  like  exultation  in  comparing  our  condition  with 
that  of  our  southern  brethren,  as  though  our  own  wisdom  or  good- 
ness had  made  us  to  differ.  We  should  avoid,  also,  the  injustice 
of  condemning  a  whole  community  for  the  faults  of  a  part,  or  im- 
plying that  the  actual  slave-holders  are  more  unfavorably  affected 
by  their  condition  than  other  persons  would  be,  if  placed  in  the 
same  circumstances.  We  should  rejoice  in  every  indication  of 
good,  be  it  ever  so  small ;  and  should  hope  for  success  in  every 
incipient  work  of  benevolence,  so  far  as  a  regard  to  the  teachings 
of  experience  will  warrant.  We  should  not,  however,  from  a 
wish  to  think  and  speak  kindly  of  the  existing  state  of  things,  or 
from  a  spurious  benevolence,  confound  the  eternal  principles  of 
right  and  wrong.  We  should  not  be  so  silly  as  to  think  that  call- 
ing slavery  a  small  evil,  or  a  blessing,  would  make  it  so  ;  or  that 
all  the  injustice,  and  all  the  cruelty,  and  all  the  mental  and  moral 
degradation — which  have  invariably  attended  slavery  in  a  large 
community,  are  at  once  to  be  cancelled,  so  that  none  of  the  guilt 
will  remain,  by  simply  alleging  that  slavery  was  entailed  upon  the 
present  generation  by  their  ancestors.  The  cause  of  truth  should 
never  be  betrayed  by  seeming  to  admit,  for  a  moment,  that  black 
men  have  no  rights  ;  or  that,  because  they  cannot  be  trusted  with 
the  possession  of  all  their  rights  at  once,  they  and  their  posterity 
shall  be  doomed  to  interminable  servitude. 

"  Our  southern  friends  do  not  deny  that  slavery  is  an  evil ;  and 
that  it  originated  in  avarice,  oppression  and  cruelty.  But  they  say, 
the  evil  exists,  and  cannot  be  suddenly  removed  without  producing 
a  greater  evil.  Granted.  It  will  not  do,  however,  to  acquiesce  in 
the  perpetual  duration  of  slavery,  because  it  cannot  be  removed 
suddenly.  And  here  should  the  patriotic  legislator  of  the  south 
take  his  stand.  He  should  insist  upon  making  a  declaration  to  the 
world,  that  the  present  system  of  holding  human  beings  in  bon- 
dage is  to  be  excused  only  on  the  plea  of  necessity.  He  should 
declare,  that  every  exertion  ought  to  be  made  to  abolish  slavery ; 
that  the  thought  of  entailing  such  a  curse  upon  all  future  ages  is 
abhorrent  to  the  feelings  of  every  virtuous  man  ;  that,  in  measures 
to  be  taken,  with  reference  to  this  subject,  the  good  of  the  blacks 
should  receive  the  first  consideration,  as  they  are  defenceless,  and 
can  have  no  voice  in  the  decision  ;  that  certain  limits  should  be 
immediately  imposed  upon  the  power  of  masters ;  and  that  provis- 
ion should  be  made  for  gradually  imparting  to  slaves  everytliing, 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  89 

which  is  now  withheld  from  them  on  the  ground  of  necessity  alone. 
If  all  the  legislatures  of  the  south  were  to  set  about  convincing  the 
world  of  their  wish  to  benefit  the  blacks,  and  ultimately  to  redeem 
them  from  their  present  degradation,  there  is  abundant  reason  to 
beheve,  that  the  pecuhar  blessing  of  God  would  attend  every  in- 
cipient effort.  "We  hesitate  not  to  say,  that  at  the  very  beginning 
of  this  process,  the  equality  which  the  gospel  teaches  is  to  be 
made  the  fundamental  principle  ;  that  equahty,  we  mean,  which  is 
implied  in  loving  our  neighbor  as  ourselves.  Every  master  should 
feel,  and  be  willing  that  his  slaves  should  know  that  he  feels  the 
obligation  of  discharging  this  law  of  love  to  them.  He  should  be 
willing  that  they  should  know  that  the  present  distinction  between 
master  and  slave  is  factitious  and  unnatural ;  that  it  is  kept  up  for 
their  good,  more  than  for  his  profit  or  gratification  ;  that  he  should 
rejoice  if  it  could  be  safely  obliterated ;  and  that  by  good  conduct 
they  may  expect  a  material  improvement  of  their  condition." 

These  extracts  are  made  more  full,  from  a  desire  to  place  here 
an  adequate  record  of  the  general  views  of  Mr.  Evarts  upon  the 
subject.  They  underwent  no  material  change  during  the  subse- 
quent period  of  his  life.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add,  that  with 
all  the  earnest  convictions  of  his  whole  mind  and  soul  upon  the 
subject,  he  entirely  disapproved — that  he  abhorred — the  style  and 
spirit  with  which  some,  before  his  death,  had  begun  to  conduct 
their  anti-slavery  warfare. 

Besides  his  labors  as  editor  of  the  Panopllst,  Mr.  Evarts  was  often 
called  upon  during  this  period  to  aid  in  ecclesiastical  councils,  to 
give  advice  on  other  occasions,  to  draft  important  documents,  and 
perform  other  similar  services  for  the  churches  in  his  vicinity.  He 
took  a  lively  interest  in  all  local  as  well  as  general  movements  for 
the  promotion  of  truth  and  righteousness.  The  church,  the  con- 
gregation or  the  city,  where  Providence  had  cast  his  lot,  were 
fields  of  action  which  he  never  overiooked.  He  was  an  officer  in 
the  churches  with  which  he  was  connected  in  New  Haven  and 
Boston  ;*  and  was  also  called  to  serve  as  a  municipal  officer  in 
various  capacities.  To  the  various  smaller  associations  immedi- 
ately around  him,  designed  to  instruct,  reform,  or  relieve  the  poor, 
the  vicious,  or  the  ignorant,  or  to  aid  the  larger  societies,  he  de- 
voted much  time  and  labor. 

He  was  active  in  the  organization  of  the  Massachusetts  Bible 
Society,  and  the  Auxiliary  of  Middlesex  county  ;  and  was  one  of 

*  He  removed  from  Charlestown  to  Boston  in  the  year  tS16. 

12 


90  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

the  first  Managers  of  the  American  Bible  Society.  In  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Missionary  Society,  though  organized  before  he  entered 
on  active  hfe,  he  felt  a  deep  interest,  and  was  for  many  years  its 
Treasurer  and  one  of  its  Trustees.  He  was  appointed  one  of  the 
Committee  of  supplies  of  the  Connecticut  Education  Society, 
formed  in  1815.  Of  the  American  Education  Society,  which  he 
ever  regarded  as  of  vital  importance  to  the  church,  he  was  an 
early  and  active  friend,  and  one  of  the  Vice-Presidents.  To  the 
necessity  of  some  special  efforts  like  those  since  made  to  increase 
the  number  of  well-qualified  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  he  directed 
the  attention  of  the  churches,  in  an  essay  published  in  the  Pano- 
plist  as  early  as  December,  1810.  The  following  extract  illus- 
trates his  habit  of  deriving  from  the  far  distant  future  cogent  and 
impressive  arguments  for  present  action  : 

"  The  candidates  for  the  ministry,"  he  remarks,  "  are  at  the  pre- 
sent time  scarcely  numerous  enough  to  supply  the  vacancies  which 
are  occurring  in  our  old  settlements.  Beside  these,  churches  and 
societies  are  daily  forming  in  newly  settled  parts  of  the  countiy. 
To  furnish  all  these  with  ministers  would  require  a  large  number 
of  young  men — a  much  larger  number  than  can  be  produced,  unless 
exertions,  hitherto  unexampled  in  this  country,  are  speedily  made. 
And  if  we  regard  the  future  and  judge  it  by  the  past,  we  shall  be 
convinced  that  within  twenty  years  of  this  time  many  hundreds  of 
additional  laborers  will  be  needed  to  supply  the  new  demands 
which  will  arise  from  the  increasing  population  of  Maine,  New 
Hampshire,  Vermont,  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  not  to  proceed 
farther  south,  where  the  wants  of  the  churches  are  still  more  im- 
perious." 

This,  it  will  be  noticed,  was  five  years  before  the  American 
Education  Society  was  formed. 

In  regard  to  these  and  all  kindred  movements  which  have  since 
become  so  firmly  established  an)ong  the  churches,  it  would  not  be 
enough  to  say  that  they  found  in  Mr.  Evarts  an  early  and  constant 
friend,  of  enlarged  views,  sagacious,  active,  and  liberal.  The 
Secretary  of  the  Prison  Discipline  Society  attributes  to  him,  more 
than  to  any  other  man,  the  origin  and  early  success  of  that  philan- 
thropic enterprise.*     He  had  studied   the  subject,  and  was  ready 

*"The  Vice-President  of  this  Society,  whose  death  we  most  deeply  feel,  was  a 
friend  to  this  object  belore  the  Society  was  formed,  or  even  contemplated,  except, 
perhaps,  by  himself.     His  comprehensive  mind,    his  deep  research,  and  thorough 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  91 

at  once  for  action,  without   listening    to  any    array  of  facts  and 
reasonings   from  another.     So  it  was  to  a   remarkable  degree  in 
regard   to   Tract  Societies,   Societies   for   the   benefit  of  Seamen, 
Sabbath   School   Societies,  and  indeed  whatever  comes  within  the 
sphere  of  Christian  philanthropy.     The  whole  subject  was  a  study 
with  him  from  an  early  period.     He   would   often  speak  of  those 
prophecies  which  relate    to   the  future  extension  and  glory  of  the  ' 
church,  and  of  the  state  of  things  among  men  which  is  implied  in 
their  full  accomplishment.     With  this  state  of  purity  and  glory  he 
would   bring  the   present   condition  of  the   world — -its   habits,   its 
social  and  political  relations,  its  maxims  and  spirit,  into  comparison. 
Then  would  come   up  thoughts  of  the  work  to  be  done,  the  evils 
to  be  corrected,  the  knowledge  to  be  diffused,  and  all  the  reforma- 
tions to  be   brought  about  in  order  to  the  coming  of  that  glorious 
day  ;  and    by   a   natural    transition    would    follow   the  ways   and 
means,    the   actual  and    prospective    agencies    in    such    a    w^ork. 
These  were  favorite  contemplations,  and  whatever  subject  engaged 
his  attention  was  disposed  of  clearly    and  methodically.     Hence, 
when  social  and  public  evils  and  new  spheres  and  plans  of  Christian 
beneficence  were  thought  of,  those   who  consulted  him  were  often 
astonished  to  find  the  subject  already  familiar  to  his  thoughts,  his 
opinions  formed,  and  his  advice,  in   regard  to  particular  measures, 
ready  almost  at  the  moment.     There  is  something  in  the  fact  that, 
in  regard  to  this  his  business,  he  had,    like   the  merchant  in    his, 
formed  habits  of  rapid  combination  and  promptness  in  disposing  of 
practical  questions.     But   that  is   not   all.      He  had  studied  these 
very    questions    beforehand  ;  and    when   anything    was  suggested 
that  he  had  not   before   thought  of  in  the  same  light,  he  was  at 
once  able  to  understand  its    place   and  relations,  and  to  discuss  it 

knowledge  of  the  world  in  which  we  live,  convinced  Mr.  Evarts,  long  before  it  had 
been  proposed,  that  the  ground  now  occupied  by  this  Society  was  a  field  for  observa- 
tion and  benevolent  action,  which  must  not  be  neglected.  While  the  revered  man 
of  whom  we  speak,  thus  felt  and  reasoned,  and  gave  the  most  substantial  evidence  of 
his  approbation  by  his  countenance,  patronage,  and  a  letter  of  credit  which  would  have 
furnished  Bibles  for  all  the  Prisons  in  the  land,  others,  who  might  have  esteemed  them- 
selves wiser  than  Mr.  Evarts,  looked  on  with  indifference.  The  coolness,  decision, 
heartfelt  approbation,  and  letter  of  credit,  above  alluded  to,  written  in  the  full  strength 
of  faith,  and  confidence  of  hope  and  afl^ection.  for  the  purpose  of  recommending  a 
suitable  agent  to  examine  and  supply  destitute  Prisons  with  the  Bible,  might  have 
been,  for  aught  we  know,  the  hinge  on  which  the  very  existence  of  this  Society  de- 
pended."    [See  6th  Rep.  of  Prison  Dis.  Soc.  p.  5.] 


92  LIFE   OF   EVARTS. 

intelligently.  The  consequence  of  this  was  that,  upon  all  such 
subjects  his  conversation  was  full  of  the  "  seeds  of  things,"  and 
he  was  resorted  to  continually  for  advice  and  assistance  in  every 
good  work.  Whatever  the  enterprise  was,  relating  to  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom  among  men,  his  counsel  was 
sought,  and  his  suggestions  were  apt  to  have  an  important  part  in 
shaping  it  and  securing  its  success. 

How  much  of  their  early  hold  on  the  public  mind,  and  how 
much  in  regard  to  the  manner  and  spirit  in  which  they  have  been 
prosecuted,  such  enterprises  owe  to  his  attention  and  advocacy,  it 
would  be  difficult  for  any  but  those  intimately  associated  with  him 
at  the  time,  to  understand.  So  far  as  he  had  anything  to  do  with 
them,  every  plan  must  be  put  upon  its  proper  basis  and  exhibited 
in  its  true  relations.  The  truth  served  all  his  purposes ;  for  he 
could  see  it  clearly,  express  it  forcibly,  and  his  purposes  were 
honest.  Distortion  and  exaggeration  were  equally  abhorrent  to 
his  moral  and  to  his  literary  tastes.  His  habits  and  success  are  a 
remarkable  refutation  of  those  who  urge  that  rashness  and  indis- 
cretion are  to  be  expected,  as  a  matter  of  course,  in  the  character 
of  a  reformer,  or  at  least  of  a  pioneer  in  reform.  The  most  in- 
ventive was  not  more  prolific  in  suggestions ;  the  most  ardent  did 
not  surpass  him  in  zeal,  nor  the  most  reckless  in  courage  ;  nor  had 
any  reformer  clearer  views  of  the  changes  that  Christianity  de- 
mands and  will  eiSfect  in  the  relations  of  man  to  man,  and  people 
to  people  ;  but  he  was  able  to  pursue  a  course  that  commended 
itself  to  every  man's  conscience  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  which  time 
would  sanction. 

But  there  was  to  him  a  far  more  engrossing  theme  than  any  of 
these.  He  had  watched  the  progress  of  British  missions  to  the 
heathen  from  an  early  period  in  his  college  life.  The  subject  had 
been  gradually  attracting  the  attention  of  the  churches,  and  it  was 
an  object  with  the  Panoplist,  from  the  beginning,  to  diffuse  mis- 
sionary intelligence.  Into  this  department  of  his  work  he  entered 
with  peculiar  pleasure.  His  heart  was  early  moved  by  the  labors 
of  the  London  Missionary  Society,  the  Moravian  Brethren,  and 
the  Baptist  Translators  at  Serampore  ;  and  the  pages  of  his  jour- 
nal bore  witness,  not  only  in  the  selected  intelligence,  but  in  the 
tenor  and  spirit  of  many  original  articles,  to  the  zeal  with  which 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  93 

he  endeavored  to  awaken  similar  feelings  in  the  hearts  of  others. 
A  new  field  was  opening  to  the  churches.  The  horizon  of  Chris- 
tian benevolence  was  extended.  The  more  enterprising  among 
Americans  soon  became  inspired  with  a  noble  ambition  to  bear 
some  part  in  the  work,  and  considerable  sums  were  raised  and  sent 
abroad,  especially  to  Serampore.  It  is  refreshing  to  see  with  what 
cordiality  he  and  his  friends  were  ready  to  co-operate  with  the 
devoted  men  at  Serampore, — denominational  differences  not  being 
suffered  to  check  the  free  promptings  of  Christian  sympathy  and 
confidence. 

It  has  already  been  mentioned  that  he  wrote  for  the  Panoplist, 
while  editor,  under  many  different  signatures.  The  Reviews  were 
also  chiefly  from  his  pen.  Indeed,  although  he  had  able  assistance, 
and  many  valuable  articles  were  contributed  by  others,  he  was 
himself  the  author  of  a  very  large  proportion,  probably  the  greater 
part  of  the  original  matter  of  the  volumes  that  he  edited, — namely, 
from  the  sixth  to  the  sixteenth,  both  inclusive.  His  own  estimate 
of  its  influence,  written  some  years  after  it  was  discontinued,  with 
special  reference  to  the  Unitarian  controversy,  deserves  to  be 
copied  here: 

"  The  Panoplist,  however,  published  in  Boston  from  1805  to 
1820,  in  sixteen  volumes,  should  not  be  omitted  here.  Besides 
exerting  an  important  influence  in  the  establishment  and  patron- 
age of  Bible,  Missionary,  Tract  and  Education  Societies  ;  besides 
furnishing  a  channel  for  the  communication  of  thoughts  on  the 
most  interesting  topics,  to  which  the  attention  of  the  religious 
public  was  drawn  ;  it  rendered  incalculable  service  to  the  cause  of 
truth,  by  compelling  Unitarians  to  leave  the  concealment  by  which 
they  had  so  long  been  gaining  influence,  and  in  which  lay  the  far 
greater  proportion  of  their  strength.  The  charge  of  such  conceal- 
ment was  indeed  most  indignantly  resented,  though  the  witnesses 
adduced  in  support  of  it  were  distinguished  Unitarians,  and  their 
testimony  was  perfectly  explicit.  It  is  still  more  remarkable,  that 
these  Unitarian  witnesses  were  not  publicly  reprehended  for  having 
given  their  testimony,  nor  was  their  veracity  called  in  question ; 
while  the  Reviewers  in  the  Panoplist  were  bitterly  reproached  for 
republisliing  their  statements  from  pages  written  by  a  leading  Uni- 
tarian, for  the  express  purpose  of  giving  an  authentic  history  of 
American  Unitarianism.  It  is  a  curious  fact,  that  the  Christian 
Examiner,  which  is  far  the  most  important  Unitarian  publication 
in  the  United  States,  ten  years  after  the  charge  Avas  made  in  the 
Panoplist,  foHnd  occasion  to  repeat  and  confirm  it.  The  disclo- 
sures, to  which  we  have  here  referred,  led  the  way  to  the  contro- 


94  LIFE   OF   EVARTS. 

versy  of  1815,  which  called  forth  the  talents  of  the  late  Dr. 
Worcester,  so  much  to  the  advantage  of  the  cause  which  he 
espoused,  and  of  which  he  proved  so  able  an  advocate.  We  are 
among  those  who  believe  that  all  the  controversies  with  Unitari- 
ans, since  the  name  was  known  in  this  country,  have  accelerated 
the  progress  of  correct  sentiments ;  have  given  strength,  union  and 
consistency  to  the  orthodox  ;  and  are  now  contributing,  in  their 
natural  and  predicted  consequences,  to  the  return  of  Boston  and 
the  vicinity  to  the  cordial  reception  of  those  doctrines,  and  the 
exemplary  practice  of  those  duties,  which  so  honorably  distinguish- 
ed the  first  settlers  of  New  England.  Believing  all  this,  we  can- 
not doubt  that  a  publication  which  aided  so  essentially  in  the 
necessary  developments,  must  have  had  an  indispensable  share 
in  producing  those  great  and  happy  effects  which  are  now 
witnessed.  Unless  we  are  greatly  mistaken,  the  Unitarians  will 
agree  with  us  in  saying,  that  if  any  good  is  to  be  derived  from  the 
Theological  Seminary  in  Andover ;  if  true  religion  is  promoted  by 
the  erection  of  new  churches  for  orthodox  assemblies  in  Boston;  if 
the  doctrines  of  the  Reformation,  as  ])reached  in  these  assemblies, 
are  to  be  approved  ;  if  revivals  of  religion,  as  the  orthodox  under- 
stand the  phrase,  are  to  be  desired ;  if  the  education  of  hundreds 
of  ministers,  and  ultimately  of  thousands,  under  the  fostering  care 
of  charitable  institutions,  is  to  bring  down  coundess  blessings  upon 
our  land  ;  if  the  sending  of  the  Gospel  to  the  heathen,  by  Chris- 
tians in  America,  is  a  good  work,  upon  which  the  blessing  of  God 
may  be  expected : — in  fine,  if  the  whole  system  of  religious  in- 
struction and  charitable  exertion,  as  sustained  by  the  orthodox,  is 
a  blessing  to  mankind  ; — then  must  the  Panoplist  be  allowed  to 
have  discharged  an  important  service,  as  it  promoted  and  defended 
all  the  measures  which  led  to  these  results,  and  was  the  organ  of 
many  original  suggestions  respecting  them." 

It  is  safe  to  add,  that  in  regard  to  the  whole  progress  of  events 
here  referred  to,  no  one  was  a  more  active  and  efficient  laborer, 
no  one  a  more  safe  or  influential  counsellor,  and  especially  no  one 
more  fruitful  in   "  original  suggestions,"  than  Mr.  Evarts. 

In  1821,  his  engagements  in  the  missionary  work  rendering  it 
impossible  for  him  to  bestow  proper  attention  upon  the  editorship, 
the  Panoplist  was  discontinued  at  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  volume. 


CHAPTER   IV. 


TREASURER    OF   THE    AMERICAN    BOARD    OF    COMMISSIONERS 
FOR   FOREIGN   MISSIONS.     1812— 1821. 


It  was  very  soon  after  the  commencement  of  his  editorial  labors, 
that  Mr.  Evarts  had  the  happiness  to  record  the  organization  of  a 
Board  for  the  promotion  of  missions  from  this  country  to  the 
heathen. 

It  has  been  remarked  that  the  thoughts  which  have  given  great 
men  their  influence  and  their  fame  have  most  often  been  conceived 
in  early  manhood.  It  is  while  the  mind  has  the  freshness  and 
pliability  of  young  and  vigorous  growth,  and  before  it  becomes 
hardened  by  surrounding  influences  and  by  habitual  conformity  to 
what  is  common  or  what  is  dominant,  that  goodness  and  greatness 
may  be  most  often  expected  to  develope  themselves  in  new  forms 
of  loveliness  and  power.  The  Paradise  Lost  originated  in  the 
thought  of  a  young  scholar,  the  circle  of  whose  private  studies,  in 
his  own  estimation,  was  yet  incomplete  ;  and  the  sublimest  of 
Newton's  discoveries  were  made  before  he  was  thirty.  So  new 
enterprizes  of  Christian  benevolence  seem  to  originate  most  gen- 
erally with  young  men  of  that  age  ;  with  those  whom  the  awak- 
ening and  enlightening  Spirit  finds  mature  enough  to  act  with 
vigor  and  constancy,  but  not  hardened  and  blinded  by  custom  and 
time.  It  was  among  such  that  modern  missions  originated,  both  in 
England  and  in  this  country. 

The  proceedings  of  the  young  men  at  Williams  College,  with 
whom  the  movement  that  led  to  the  organization  of  the  American 


96  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions  commenced,  need 
not  be  here  detailed.  The  names  of  Samuel  J.  Mills  and  his  as- 
sociates at  that  time,  the  devotion  with  which  they  cherished  their 
purpose  of  engaging  personally  in  foreign  missions,  their  persever- 
ance, and  their  becoming  spirit  of  humility  and  of  deference  to 
their  superiors  in  age  and  Christian  experience,  will  not  be  forgot- 
ten by  the  American  churches.  Their  history  for  two  or  three 
years  after  their  purpose  was  formed  and  their  mutual  pledge  given, 
is  one  that  may  always  be  dwelt  upon  with  equal  delight  and 
profit.  The  first  public  movement  in  accordance  with  their  wishes 
was  nearly  simultaneous  with  the  removal  of  Mr.  Evarts  to 
Charlestown  ;  and  their  plan  received  his  cordial  approbation  be- 
fore it  was  submitted  to  the  consideration  of  any  public  body. 

On  the  26th  of  June,  1810,  Rev.  Drs.  Worcester  and  Grifiin 
and  several  other  clergymen,  being  at  Andover,  met  at  the  house 
of  the  Rev.  Professor  Stuart,  and  spent  the  afternoon  in  hearing 
the  statements  of  the  young  men  referred  to,  and  in  consultation 
and  prayer  respecting  the  subject  thus  brought  before  them.  *'  In 
the  evening,"  says  a  gentleman  who  was  present,  *'  I  unexpect- 
edly met  Mr.  Evarts,  and  had  a  very  delightful  interview  with  him. 
He  had  come  from  Boston  to  attend  the  General  Association  of 
Massachusetts,  which  was  to  meet  the  next  day  at  Bradford.  To 
my  joy  I  found  Mr.  Evarts  entirely  familiar  with  the  subject  which 
the  young  men  had  presented  during  the  afternoon.  He  seemed 
to  understand  the  whole,  and  was  unhesitating  in  the  opinion  that 
they  were  right,  that  the  American  churches  should  and  would 
sustain  them,  and  that  an  appeal  to  secure  the  necessary  aid  ought 
to  be  made  without  delay.  My  own  mind  was  awed  by  the  pro- 
posal, and  was  most  favorably  impressed  by  his  opinions  and  views. 
They  seemed  bold  ;  but  the  whole  history  of  the  enterprize  since 
has  shown  them  to  have  been  just  and  correct."  At  Bradford, 
although  not  a  member  of  the  Association,  Mr.  Evarts  was  active 
and  very  influential,  not  only  in  procuring  the  unanimous  vote  in 
favor  of  establishing  a  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  but  in  arrang- 
ing the  details  of  the  organization,  and  in  preparing  the  members 
10  co-operate  in  the  great  work  to  which  the  Providence  of  God 
was  thus  calling  the  American  churches.  "  I  have  ever  regarded 
Jeremiah  Evarts,"  says  the  gentleman  last   quoted,  "  as  one  oi* 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 


97 


the  principal  founders  *  of  the  American  Board  of  Commission- 
ers for  Foreign  Missions.  And  after  the  Board  had  been  organized, 
and  the  question  of  funds  came  up,  he  was  ready,  and  said  at 
once  that  agents  should  be  sent  among  the  churches  and  auxiliaries 
formed,  and  that  forthwith."  Many  hesitated,  saying  that  the 
churches  would  not  bear  it.  But  the  faith  of  Mr.  Evarts  was 
strong  ;  he  trusted  in  God  that  the  church  would  be  made  ready  for 
any  measure  that  the  exigency  might  demand.  The  Board  held 
its  first  meeting  and  was  organized  at  Farmington,  Connecticut, 
on  the  5th  of  September  following. 

The  Panoplist  was  from  the  first  the  medium  through  which  the 
Board  addressed  the  Christian  public,  and  was  made  exceedingly 
efficient  in  the  promotion  of  its  objects.  Mr.  Evarts  labored  in 
various  ways  to  bring  the  state  and  claims  of  the  heathen  before 
the  churches.     Besides  publishing  liberal  extracts  from  the  reports 


*  Among  those  who  were  most  prominent  in  this  happy  movement,  and  who  with 
Mr.  Evarts  have  already  entered  into  their  rest,  were  the  Rev.  Drs.  Worcester,  Spring, 
and  Griffin.  Dr.  Worcester,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  Mr.  Evarts  a  few  weeks  before 
his  death,  slates  the  circumstances  in  which  the  plan  of  the  Board  originated  as  fol- 
lows : 

"  '  The  day  of  small  things  '  is  in  fresh  remembrance.  On  the  2.5th  of  Juce.  1810, 
serious  deliberation,  attended  with  fervent  prayer,  was  held  at  Andover,  reUtive  to  the 
burning  desire  of  three  or  four  theological  students  there,  to  be  employ^^  a*  mission- 
aries to  the  heathen.  The  result  was,  to  refer  the  momentous  queslior  to  the  General 
Association  of  Massachusetts.  The  next  day  Dr.  Spring  look  a  seat  "  "ly  chaise,  and 
rode  with  me  to  Bradford,  where  the  General  Association  was  tr  convene.  In  the 
conversation  on  the  way  the  ^rst  idea,  I  believe,  of  the  Ameri'AN  Board  of  Com- 
MissioNEKS  FOR  FOREIGN  MISSIONS,  was  Suggested; — tb'  form,  the  number  of 
members,  and  the  name  were  proposed.  On  the  27th,  the  i"estion  came  before  the 
Association,  and  the  report  of  the  Committee,  which  was  a<^op'ed  by  thai  body,  was 
the  substance  of  ihe  result  of  the  conversation  in  the  chs»*e- 

"  On  the  5tli  of  the  ensuing  September,  the  first  me-ling  of  the  Commissioners  was 
held,  and  the  Board  was  organized. 

"  But  wliat  individual,  who  took  a  part  in  those  inchoative  deliberations  and  proceed- 
ings, had  any  adequate  anticipations  of  the  mas'nUu^e  and  importance  to  which,  in  ten 
years,  they  would  grow?  American  Christians  had  never  combined  in  any  great  en- 
terprize  or  plan  for  spreading  the  knowledge  of  Christ,  or  advancing  his  kingdom  ;  had 
never  sent,  from  these  shores,  a  single  mi?sionary  with  the  message  of  heavenly  mercy 
to  any  portion  of  the  widely  extenJed  pagan  world,  lying  in  darkness  and  in  wicked- 
ness, without  God,  and  without  hope.  Some  scattered  and  transient  efforts  had  indeed 
been  made,  for  the  benefit  of  some  of  the  native  tribes  of  the  American  forests;  but 
without  any  general  union,  or  any  expansive  or  systematized  plan  of  operations.  In 
these  respects,  there  was  no  experience,  no  example  ;  all  was  untried,  all  to  be  begun. 
What  disposition  would  be  found  in  the  community,  in  regard  to  the  great  object,  was 
problematical." 

13 


98  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

of  English  missionaries  accompanied  with  remarks,  he  wrote  re- 
views of  several  works  on  missions,  and  various  addresses  and 
appeals,  in  a  spirit  well  calculated  to  awaken  and  convince.  The 
rapidity  with  which  this  project,  so  new,  and  deemed  by  many  so 
visionary,  gained  favor  and  support,  proved  that  these  labors  were 
not  without  effect. 

At  the  annual  meeting  in  1811,  Mr.  Evarts  was  elected  Treas- 
urer, and  in  1812  he  was  made  a  member  of  the  Board  and  of  the 
Prudential  Committee.  The  first  named  office  he  held  for  ten 
years  ;  the  two  latter  till  his  death.  From  the  time  of  his  appoint- 
ment as  Treasurer  he  was  actively  concerned  in  all  the  plans  and 
labors  of  Board  and  of  the  Committee,  both  for  obtaining  the  neces- 
sary funds  and  for  enlarging  and  giving  vigor  to  its  operations 
abroad.  Into  his  office  he  carried  all  that  careful  attention  to 
business  and  that  minute  accuracy,  for  which  he  was  always  so 
much  distinguished.  The  value  of  these  habits  in  managing  the 
affairs  of  an  institution  so  novel,  and  to  which  so  many  were  ready 
to  find  grounds  for  objection,  may  readily  be  conceived.  Not 
only  were  his  integrity  and  faithfulness  to  his  trust  above  suspicion, 
but  his  character  for  accuracy  in  all  the  details  of  his  office  com- 
manded universal  confidence.  He  appreciated  as  he  ought  a 
good  name  in  the  management  of  a  public  religious  charity  ;  and 
during  all  his  subsequent  life,  was  accustomed  to  speak  with  hum- 
ble thankfulaess  of  the  confidence  which  the  Christian  community 
reposed  in  him.  and  of  the  fact  that,  by  Divine  assistance,  he  and 
his  associates  hal,  been  enabled  to  conduct  the  concerns  of  the 
Board,  from  its  begnning  onward  through  periods  of  inexperience 
and  embarrassment,  h  such  a  manner  as  to  obtain  the  uniform  and 
decided  approbation  of  '.ts  patrons. 

From  his  first  connectio^  with  the  Board  his  labors  were  very  far 
from  being  confined  to  its  Treasury  alone.  The  Rev.  Sanmel 
Worcester,  D.  D.,  was  corresponding  Secretary  ;  and  upon  these 
two  men  devolved  not  only  the  executive  business  of  the  Board, 
but,  more  than  on  any  other  individuals,  the  duty  of  giving  its  opera- 
tions their  form  and  direction,  and  of  suggesting  and  maturing  its 
plans.  They  were  often  together;  devoted  many  a  long  evening, 
often  protracted  far  into  the  night,  to  the  consideration  of  the  im- 
portant questions  that  were  continually  coming  up,  and  in  the  de- 


LIFE   OF   EVARTS.  99 

cision  of  which  thay  had  no  light  from  experience  to  guide  them.* 
The  correspondence  of  Mr.  Evarts  with  the  missionaries,  far 
from  being  Hmited  to  the  subjects  indicated  by  his  official  relation 
to  them,  embraced  all  the  great  topics  in  which  the  parties,  as 
laborers  together  for  the  promotion  of  truth  and  righteousness 
among  the  heathen,  felt  a  common  interest.  Upon  him,  also,  de- 
volved often  the  preparation  of  appeals  to  the  public  on  behalf  of 
the  Board,  and  other  important  documents.  Addresses  to  the 
Christian  Public  were  prepared  and  published  in  1811,  1812,  and 
1813,  by  Rev.  Drs.  Morse  and  Worcester  and  Mr.  Evarts  as  a 
committee.  They  were  intended  to  make  known  more  extensively 
and  fully  the  objects  of  the  Board,  its  plans,  and  its  claims  on  the 
co-operation  of  the  religious  public.  The  latter  half  of  that  for 
1811,  and  the  whole  of  those  for  1812  and  1813  were  from  the 
pen  of  Mr.  Evarts.  These  papers  are  models,  which  all  engaged 
in  promoting  objects  of  Christian  benevolence,  would  do  well  to 
study  and  to  imitate.  They  aim  at  permanent  results ;  and  are 
elevated,  in  the  topics  introduced,  and  in  the  whole  texture  of 
thought  and  style,  far  above  all  the  arts  that  are  too  often  resorted 
to  for  immediate  effect.  The  following  paragraphs  will  serve  as  a 
specimen. 

After  mentioning  the  two  great  departments  of  contemplated 
labor,  preaching  and  the  translation  of  the  Bible,  the  address  of 
1812  proceeds  : — 

"  These  objects  are  great.  Every  thing  which  has  a  direct  ten- 
dency to  promote  the  salvation  of  immortal  souls  is  great  beyond  the 
power  of  language  to  express,  or  imagination  to  conceive.  Who 
shall  describe  the  happiness  to  be  enjoyed  by  a  single  redeemed  sin- 
ner during  a  blessed  eternity?  or  the  miseries,  the  unutterable  and 
never  ending  horrors,  escaped  in  consequence  of  being  made  wise 
unto  salvation  ?  Who  shall  adequately  declare  the  magnitude  of 
an  attempt  to  evangelize  whole  nations,  and  ultimately  to  ren- 
ovate a  world  ;  an  attempt  to  disenthral  the  slaves  of  Satan,  and. 
bring  them  into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  sons  of  God  ;  an  attempt 
to  diffuse  peace  and  joy  throughout  the  abodes  of  men,  and  to 
people  the  regions  of  immortal  life  with  redeemed  and  sanctified 
spirits  ?  In  an  attempt  thus  noble  and  sublime  does  every  man 
engage,  who  aids  in  sending  the  heralds  of  salvation  to  the 
heathen,  and  in  putting  the  word  of  truth  into  their  hands. 

*  After  his  removal  to  Boston,  his  office — for  several  years  the  only  office  in  the 
city  for  business  of  the  Board,— was  in  his  own  house,  in  Pinckney-street. 


100  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

"  The  objects  are  extensive.  They  admit,  they  require,  the  labors 
of  multitudes.  The  glorious  employment  of  being  fellow  laborers 
in  the  cause  of  God,  is  an  employment  in  which  all  who  are  so 
inclined,  may  at  all  times  engage  But  the  support  of  missions, 
and  the  publication  of  the  Scriptirres,  in  all  nations,  are  enterprises 
in  which  the  efforts  of  multitudes  can  be  united  with  peculiar  fa- 
cility. Christians  in  both  hemispheres,  and  of  every  denomination, 
can  direct  their  exertions  to  produce  one  result, — a  result  of  the 
highest  conceivable  importance.  Combined  efforts,  whether  of  a 
good  or  evil  character,  are  incomparably  more  poAverful  than  single 
efforts  can  be.  How  delighifal,  how  enrapturing  the  sight,  to  be- 
hold good  men  of  every  rank  and  condition,  in  all  parts  of  the 
world,  uniting  in  one  vast  labor  of  love." 

"  It  is  not  only  practicable  for  multitudes  to  unite  in  the  great 
purpose  of  evangelizing  the  world,  but  such  a  union  is  absolutely 
necessary,  in  order  to  bring  about  this  event  in  the  shortest  time. 
All  the  power  and  influence  of  the  whole  Christian  world  must  be 
\i  \'  put  in  requisition,  during  the  course  of  those  beneficent  labors 
f^'^H'  ''^  which  will  precede  the  millennium.  What  expenses,  what  priva- 
tions and  sacrifices  must  be  incurred,  before  six  hundred  millions  of 
heathens  can  read  the  word  of  God  in  their  own  languages,  and  pos- 
sess it  in  their  own  families  ;  and  before  preachers  can  be  furnished 
to  direct  this  countless  host  into  the  path  of  life  !  The  utmost  ex- 
ertion of  every  Christian  now  living,  so  far  as  his  other  duties  will 
permit,  is  required  in  this  glorious  service.  How  boundless  must 
be  the  field  of  labor  which  admits,  and  will  continue  to  admit,  the 
labors  of  all  benevolent  persons,  in  every  region  of  the  habitable 
globe ! 

"But  the  most  animating  consideration  still  remains.  These  objects 
are  attainable.  To  deny  the  practicability  and  usefulness  of  missions 
and  translations  of  the  Scriptures,  would  manifest  a  total  ignorance 
of  the  subject,  or  a  deep  hostility  to  the  progress  of  Christianity. 
Twenty  years  ago,  objections  to  these  extrardinary  efforts  might 
have  been  formed  much  more  plausibly  than  at  present.  Happily 
for  the  world,  such  objections  did  not  then  stifle  those  beneficent 
attempts  which  have  already  given  the  Bible  to  nations  in  the 
heart  of  Asia,  in  their  own  languages.  Whether  Providence  shall 
bless  the  efforts  of  this  Board,  it  is  not  in  the  power  of  man  to  de- 
termine. Let  us  wait  with  humility  and  submission.  But  that 
the  objects  in  view  will  be  attained,  and  by  human  instruments 
too,  will  not  be  doubted  by  those  who  expect  the  final  prevalence 
of  true  religion  over  error  and  sin.  If  the  failh  of  Christians  in 
America  should  be  tried  at  the  outset,  it  is  no  more  than  has  fre- 
quently been  experienced  by  Christians  in  every  age.  Such  trials 
have  often  preceded  the  most  signal  success,  and  far  from  dis- 
heartening, should  stimulate  to  more  animated  and  faithfid  labors. 
"  It  is  an  obvious  reflection,  and  a  pretty  common  one,  that 
Christians  of  the  present  generation  are  greatly  favored.  While 
their  eyes  have  seen  most  astonishing  and  unparalleled  displays  of 
human  wickedness,  they  have  also  beheld  innumerable  trophies  of 
divine  grace.     From  nations  betrayed,  enslaved,  weltering  in  their 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  JOl 

blood,  and  shrouded  in  a  starless  night  of  infidelity  and  profligacy, 
their  attention  has  been  turned  with  transport  to  tlie  light  which 
has  encircled  the  dwellings  of  the  faithful,  and  to  the  rising  glories 
of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness.  Their  ears,  for  a  long  time  stunned 
by  the  outcries,  blasphemies,  and  unutterable  confusion  of  a  wicked 
world  suffering  the  vengeance  of  God  from  the  hands  of  cruel 
men,  have  found  a  happy  relief  in  hearing  the  glad  sounds  of  sal- 
vation reverberating  through  heathen  lands,  and  in  listening  to  the 
songs  of  converted  idolaters,  soon  to  be  exchanged  for  the  songs 
of  the  blessed.  Aheady  they  hear,  or  seem  to  hear,  the  com- 
mencement of  that  celestial  hymn.  Arise,  shine;  for  thy  light  is 
come,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  is  risen  upon  thee  ;  a  hymn  in  which 
all  the  tribes  and  nations  will  hereafter  unite  with  joy  unspeakable, 
and  which  will  be  re-echoed  from  the  realms  of  immortality  in  one 
boundless  chorus  of  rapture  and  praise." 

"  To  be  silent  and  inactive  spectators  of  these  animating  scenes, 
if  that  only  were  permitted,  would  be  a  grand  fehcity.  But  Chris- 
tians need  not  be  silent  and  inactive  spectators.  Indeed,  they 
ought  not ;  they  must  not.  They  are  now  favored  \Yith  opportu- 
nities of  promoting  the  cause  of  Christ,  not  enjoyed  by  preceding 
generations.  No  age  since  that  of  the  Apostles  has  afforded  so 
great  encouragement  to  engage  with  zeal  and  activity  in  the  best 
of  all  causes,  as  the  present  day  affords.  How  would  the  saints  of  .  i(q^-*«  ^''''''' 
former  times,  the  Baxters,  the  Beveridges,  the  Wattses,  the  Ed-  (' '  _ "^ 
wardses,  have  rejoiced  to  see  this  day !  They  looked  forward  to 
it,  and  to  the  more  delightful  scenes  still  future,  with  joyful  antici- 
pations. How  would  they  have  exulted  to  join  in  its  employments, 
and  mingle  their  labors  and  prayers  with  those  of  the  great  multi- 
tudes, who  now  incessantly  labor  and  pray  for  the  universal  estab- 
lishment of  the  Pvedeemer's  kingdom  I 

It  is  now  generally  seen  and  felt,  by  those  who  have  any  claim 
to  be  considered  as  proper  judges,  that  Christianity  is  the  only 
remedy  for  the  disorders  and  miseries  of  this  world,  as  well  as  the 
only  foundation  of  hope  for  the  world  to  come.  No  other  agent 
will  ever  control  the  violent  passions  of  men  ;  and  without  the 
true  religion,  all  attempts  to  meliorate  the  condition  of  mankind 
will  prove  as  illusory  as  a  feverish  dream.  The  genuine  patriot*/  yaUi^-a^ 
therefore,  and  the  genuine  philanthropist,  must  labor,  so  far  as  ,- 
they  value  the  prosperity  of  their  country  and  the  happiness  of  thq  ' 
human  race,  to  diifuse  the  knowledge  and  the  influence  of  Chris-, 
tianity,  at  home  and  abroad.  Thus  will  they  labor  most  effectually 
to  put  a  final  period  to  oppression  and  slavery,  to  perfidy  and  war, 
and  to  all  the  train  of  evils  which  falsehood,  ambition,  and  cruelty 
have  so  profusely  scattered  tln'ough  the  world.  Infidelity  seems 
abashed,  and  in  the  attitude  of  retiring  from  every  place  where 
her  hideous  form  and  features  can  be  compared  with  the  symmetry 
and  beauty  of  religion.  She  seeks  concealment  and  obscurity, 
and  is  half  ashamed  of  her  votaries,  who,  in  their  turn,  are  cor- 
dially ashamed  of  her.  Over  infidelity  and  every  abuse  of  religion 
the  Captain  of  our  Salvation  will  triumph.  Wise  are  they  who  en- 


102  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

list  under  his  banner,  fight  his  battles,  and  share  in  the  joys  of  his 
victory  ! 

"  While  soliciting  the  prayers  of  the  pions,  and  the  pecuniary 
contributions  of  all  who  are  able  and  willing  to  contribute,  it  be- 
hooves us  explicitly  to  disclaim  any  desire  to  profit  by  mere 
appeals  to  the  passions.  We  trust  the  addresses  and  other  public 
papers  of  the  Board,  have  never  partaken  of  this  character.  Con- 
vinced that  the  work  of  evangelizing  mankind  is  the  noblest  work 
in  which  men  ever  engaged,  that  the  encouragements  to  prosecute 
it  are  at  all  times  abundant,  and  that  its  completion  is  certain, 
nothing  more  can  at  any  time  be  needed  to  interest  the  hearts  of 
Christians  in  it,  than  to  open  a  promising  field  of  labor. 

"  At  the  present  time,  the  call  for  renewed  and  increased  exer- 
tion is  so  loud,  that  it  has  been  heard  and  obeyed  by  thousands  in 
diflerent  parts  of  the  world.  The  friend  and  patron  of  missions, 
far  from  acting  by  the  blind  impulse  of  passion,  is  supported  by 
the  plainest  dictates  of  reason,  the  decisive  experience  of  ages, 
and  the  infallible  declarations  of  Scripture.  He  who  embarks  in 
such  a  cause,  and  whose  heart  approves  the  conclusions  of  his 
reason,  will  not  easily  relinquish  the  object  of  his  hopes  and 
prayers. 

"  It  is  worthy  of  particular  notice,  that  there  has  been  a  uniform 
progress,  for  the  last  twenty  years,  in  the  number,  magnitude,  and 
svTCcess  of  the  attempts  to  preach  the  Gospel,  and  to  impart  the 
Scriptures  to  the  ignorant  and  destitute,  both  in  Christian  and 
heathen  lands.  God  grant  that  this  progress  may  continue  and  in- 
crease ;  and  that  those  who  offer,  and  all  "who  read  this  address, 
may  have  some  humble  share  in  promoting  a  cause  which  aims 
directly  and  supremely  at  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  salvation  of  the 
whole  human  race." 

The  following  passages  are  from  the  Address  of  1813  : 

"  In  behalf  of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign 
Missions,  the  subscribers,  a  committee  for  the  purpose,  beg  leave 
to  solicit  the  attention  of  the  Christian  public  to  the  cause  in  which 
the  Board  is  engaged,  and  for  the  promotion  of  which  it  was  ori- 
ginally instituted,  and  has  since  been  incorporated.  We  are  not 
backward  to  state,  at  the  commencement  of  this  address,  that  we 
shall  lay  before  the  reader,  with  great  satisfaction,  some  of  the 
facts  and  reasons  on  which  our  attachment  to  this  cause  is  founded, 
and  which,  we  are  sure,  will  not  fail  to  commend  themselves  to 
every  enlightened  conscience,  and  to  make  an  impression  on 
every  pious  heart.  The  cause  itself  is  transcendently  glorious, 
and  deserving  of  the  warmest  approbation  of  all  men,  however  im- 
perfectly or  feebly  we  may  state  its  claims.  To  doubt,  or  hesi- 
tate, in  regard  to  the  urgency  of  these  claims,  and  the  duty  of 
keeping  them  habitually  in  view,  would  be  equally  repugnant  to 
-our  feelings,  and  dishonorable  to  our  profession  as  Christians. 
Can  it  be  a  matter  of  doubt,  or  of  indifference,  to  any  man  who 
has  the  Scriptures  in  his  hands,  and  has  profited  by  perusing  them. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  ]03 

•whether  Christianity  is  to  become,  at  some  future  day,  the  reli- 
gion of  all  mankind  ? — whether  its  transforming  power  is  univer- 
sally to  influence  the  hearts  and  the  lives  of  men? — whether  tlie 
word  of  God  is  to  be  read,  understood,  and  obeyed,  by  the  nations 
now  sunk  in  idolatry  and  ignorance  ? — whether  this  grand  consum- 
mation is  to  be  effected  by  the  means  which  men  are  voluntarily 
to  supply? — or  whether  there  is  an  imperious  necessity  that 
Christians  should  zealously  co-operate  in  this  great  work  of  the 
Lord? 

"  The  object  of  the  Board  is  one — the  promulgation  of  Christianity 
among  the  heathen.     The  means  by  which  this  object  is  designed 
to  be  effected,  are  of  two  kinds  ; — the  publication  and  distribution  ofsj    r^\it^ 
the  Scriptures  in  the  different  languages  ;  and  the  support  of  faith-      ^T^t/i»w^*^ 
ful  missionaries  to  explain,  exemplify,  and  impress  on  the  mind, 
the  great  truths  which  the  Scriptures  contain. 

"  In  regard  to  the  distribution  of  the  Scriptures,  the  Board  is  in  ^  j<yL^)i 
fact,  though  not  in  name,  a  Foreign  Bible  Society ;  and,  under  *" 
this  aspect,  we  earnestly  request  that  its  advantages  may  be  con- 
sidered by  all  who  would  joyfully  place  the  Bible  in  the  hands  of 
pagans.  Confined  in  its  operations  to  no  part  of  the  globe  in  exclu- 
sion of  other  parts,  the  Board  can  extend  the  sovereign  balm 
"wherever  there  are  spiritual  maladies  to  be  healed  ;  enjoying  the 
benefit  of  established  plans  of  correspondence  and  co-operation, 
the  result  of  its  proceedings  can  be  more  prompt  than  could  other- 
wise be  expected ;  and  having  its  attention  long  fixed  on  the  most 
promising  fields  of  exertion,  its  agents  will  acquire  a  facility  of 
action,  which  can  never  be  applied  to  single,  insulated,  and  sudden 
efforts.  Through  the  instrumentality  of  the  Board,  every  charita- 
ble person,  however  retired  or  obscure,  has  it  in  his  power  to  send 
the  Bible  to  those  very  heathens,  than  whom  none  of  the  human 
race  can  need  it  more,  and  on  v/hom  there  are  peculiar  encourage- 
ments to  bestow  it.  A  known,  regular,  uninterrupted  channel  will 
be  kept  open,  (with  the  blessing  of  Providence,)  through  wliich 
the  streams  of  American  beneficence  may  flow  into  the  centre  of 
the  pagan  world,  and  contribute  to  fertilize  regions  which  have 
long  been  dreary  and  barren  of  all  moral  good.  And  shall  not  these 
streams  increase,  till  they  form  a  mighty  river,  flowing  with  a 
steady  and  resistless  current,  and  bearing  on  its  bosom  the  im- 
mortal hopes  of  restored  Jews,  and  the  imperishable  riches  of  con- 
verted Gentiles  ?  Will  not  many  of  our  countrymen  esteem  it  a 
high  privilege,  that  their  contributions,  at  whatever  season  be- 
stowed, may,  in  a  few  months  and  without  care  or  trouble  to  them- 
selves, be  so  applied,  even  in  the  remote  eastern  hemisphere,  as 
to  commence  a  series  of  good  effects  which  shall  never  end,  and 
the  number  and  magnitude  of  which  no  human  powers  can  calcu- 
late ?  A  single  Bible  given  to  a  Hindoo  or  a  Ceylonese,  may  be 
the  means  of  enlightening  a  family,  of  arousing  the  attention  of 
a  neighborhood,  or  of  withdrawing  a  multitude  from  idolatry,  lead- 
ing them  to  procure  the  Scriptures  for  themselves,  and  turning 
them  from  darkness  to  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  to  the 
living  God. 


104  LIFE   OF   EVARTS. 

"  Some  persons  speak  of  missions  as  though  they  were  a  new 
thing  in  the  world  ;  or  at  least  as  though  they  had  never  done  much 
good  to  mankind.  These  persons  forget  that  Christianity  has  al- 
ways been  extended  by  missions,  wherever  it  has  been  extended 
at  all,  with  the  exception  of  what  has  been  done  in  this  way  by 
colonization.  They  forget  that  all  Europe,  and  large  portions  of 
Asia  and  Africa,  have  been  converted  to  Christianity  by  missions  ; 
that  the  primitive  preachers  of  Christianity  were  almost  all  mis- 
sionaries ;  that  the  disciples  who  composed  our  Lord's  household, 
to  whom  Matthias  and  Paul  were  subsequently  added,  were  named 
ynissionaries,  and  have  been  gloriously  distinguished  in  all  succeed- 
ing ages,  as  the  missionaries  of  Jesus  Christ.  They  seem  ignorant 
that  the  word  apostle,  introduced  into  our  language  from  the  Greek, 
is  precisely  of  the  same  meaning  as  our  word  missionary;  and 
that  learned  divines  have  regretted  that  the  word  was  not  trans- 
lated instead  of  being  thus  introduced.  They  forget  that  our  an- 
cestors in  Britain  were  wretched  idolaters,  offering  human  sacri- 
fices, and  clinging  to  the  most  degrading  superstitions,  till  they 
were  delivered  from  their  miserable  bondage  by  the  instrumental- 
ity of  missionaries.  If  such  mighty  transformations  were  wrought 
by  the  labors  of  missionaries,  when  printing  was  unknown, 
and  there  was  but  little  intercourse  between  nations, — w^hen 
most  barbarous  nations  were  subdivided  into  a  multitude  of  petty 
states,  hostile  to  each  other, — when  science  was  in  its  infancy, 
and  the  restraints  of  law  and  order  were  but  partially  enjoyed, — 
when  commerce  had  just  begun  to  produce  its  civilizing  effects  ; 
— how  much  more  encouragement  is  there  to  proceed  with  vigor  in 
the  establishment  and  support  of  missions,  in  these  highly  favored 
times,  when  the  art  of  printing  will  enable  us  to  multiply  copies 
of  the  Scriptures  so  as  to  supply  the  wants  of  every  human  be- 
ing,— when  commerce  visits  every  part  of  the  world, — when 
wealth  is  abundant,  and  the  means  of  supporting  distant  expedi- 
tions of  benevolence  are  easily  supplied, — when  the  number  of 
persons  engaged  in  this  good  work  is  great  and  increasing, — and 
above  all,  when  the  day  is  not  far  distant,  as  we  trust,  in  which 
the  word  of  the  Lord  shall  have  free  course,  and  its  influence  be 
felt  from  the  rising  to  the  setting  sun  ? 

"  We  are  anxious  to  fix  your  attention.  Christian  brethren,  on 
the  great  object  of  evangelizing  all  nations  ;  an  object  more  glo- 
rious, more  worthy  of  the  universal  patronage  and  adm.iration  of  the 
people  of  God,  than  the  tongue  can  express,  or  the  heart  conceive, 
and  an  object  of  sure  and  no  very  distant  accomplishment.  To 
this  object  the  eyes  of  Christians  in  many  countries  are  already 
most  earnestly  directed.  The  Christian  world  is  now,  for  the  first 
time,  reaching  forward  to  its  attainment,  and  even  grasping  it  by 
anticipation.  In  Great  Britain,  the  promulgation  of  true  religion 
in  every  part  of  the  earth,  and  the  publication  and  distribution  of 
the  Scriptures  in  every  language,  are  topics  of  general  and  famil- 
iar allusion,  as  though  these  stupendous  events  were  at  hand,  and 
were  even  now  hailed  with  demonstrations  of  joy.  When  we 
notice  that  the  wisest  and  the  best  informed  men  in  that  empire, 


LIFE    OF  EVARTS.  IQ5 

and  in  our  owii  countiy,  partake  of  these  joyful  anticipations,  and 
that  a  similar  crisis  in  the  state  of  the  church  has  never  before 
been  known  ;  when  we  observe  that  this  tone  of  pubhc  feehng 
has  been  excited  not  by  a  sudden  impulse  of  enthusiasm,  but  by 
a  patient  comparison  of  the  word  of  God  with  his  providence, 
of  prophecy  with  history, — by  an  attentive  consideration  of  the  pe- 
culiar sigiu  of  the  times, — and  by  the  gradual  operation  of  causes 
above  the  powers  of  man  to  contrive  or  combine  ;  w^e  are  forced 
to  believe  that  God  has  great  things  to  be  accomplished  by 
the  men  of  this  generation  ;  and  that,  after  punishing  the  nations 
for  their  sins,  he  is  about  to  deliver  them  from  the  wretched 
bondage  in  which  they  have  been  held.  To  this  day  the  an- 
cient prophets  looked  forward  with  holy  rapture ;  for  this  day  the 
persecuted  congregations  of  the  faithful  prayed  during  the  gloomy 
reign  of  popish  superstition ;  for  this  day  the  Reformers  labored 
and  suffered  ;  for  this  day  the  most  devout  aspirations  of  pious 
souls  have  in  every  age  ascended.  Shall  we,  who  are  so  happy  as 
to  see  this  day,  neglect  to  do  our  part?  Other  times  have  been 
times  of  preparation;  the  present  age  is  emphatically  the  age  of 
action.     Shall  we  remain  idle  in  this  harv^est  time  of  the  world  ? 

"None  who  have  read  their  Bibles,  ought  to  be  ignorant  that  they 
are  stewards  of  whatever  they  possess  ;  that  all  their  mens  and 
opportunities  of  doing  good  are  recorded  in  the  book  of  God's  re- 
membrance ;  and  that  an  account  must  be  rendered  of  the  manner 
in  which  this  stewardship  has  been  exercised.  Who,  in  this  favored 
land,  can  say  that  he  has  not  been  intrusted  with  at  least  one  tal- 
ent ?  Who  can  be  willing  to  hide  that  talent  in  a  napkin  ?  How 
many  are  there,  who  have  their  five,  their  ten,  their  fifty,  their 
hundred  talents  I  And  how  unhappy  will  be  their  case,  if  all  this 
liberality  of  Providence  shall  be  found  at  last  to  have  been  wasted 
upon  them ;  to  have  produced  none  of  the  good  to  which  it  ought 
to  have  been  applied ;  and  to  hav^e  proved  its  earthly  possesors 
guilty  of  unfaithfulness  to  the  rightful  Proprietor ! 

"  The  proportion  of  his  property,  which  each  Christian  should 
devote  to  public  and  charitable  purposes,  differs  according  to  the 
different  circumstances  in  which  he  is  placed,  and  must  be  left  to 
the  decision  of  his  own  conscience  instructed  by  the  word  of  God. 
But  however  ditficult  it  might  be  to  determine  the  exact  amount 
which  each  one  should  give,  there  can  be  no  hesitation  in  declaring, 
that  it  should,  in  all  circumstances,  and  at  all  times,  be  so  great  as 
to  be  really  valued  by  him  who  gives  it,  and  thus  be  a  real  sacri- 
fice in  his  estimation.  For  a  poor  widow  to  give  her  two  mites, 
even  all  her  living,  is  a  great  sacrifice ;  but  for  a  wealthy  man  to 
give  two  hundred  mites  can  be  no  sacrifice  at  all ;  for  it  would  not 
cause  him  a  moment's  uneasiness, nor  be  considered  as  a  loss  worthy 
to  be  mentioned,  if  he  were  to  lose  ten  times  that  sum  in  the  bot- 
tom of  the  sea.  That  Christians  may  act  with  system,  and  yield 
to  each  charitable  claim  its  proper  regard,  they  will  do  wisely  to 
ascertain,  each  one  for  himself,  how  large  a  sum  he  ought  to  be- 
stow froxn  year  to  year ;  always  remembering,  that  it  is  safer  to 

14 


,^ 


106  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

err  on  the  side  of  generosity  than  on  that  of  parsimony  ;  that  few 
err  in  giving  too  much,  many  withholding  more  than  is  meet;  and 
that  his  decision  is  to  be  re-examined  at  the  judgment-seat  of 
Christ. 

"  Still  less  would  we  venture  to  intimate  the  proportion  which  is 
due  to  the  various  charitable  purposes  now  existing  in  this  country. 
We  are  confident,  however,  that  where  the  pubhc  have  the  means 
of  information  in  relation  to  such  purposes,  where  no  invidious  com- 
parisons are  made  between  the  claims  of  different  charitable  asocia- 
tions,  and  no  rivalship  exists  but  that  which  provokes  to  love  and  to 
good  works,  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  Providence  will  direct  to 
a  proper  distribution  of  pecuniary  means.  There  are  many  charitable 
institutions,  on  each  of  which  every  good  man  ought  to  implore 
the  divine  blessing.  Perhaps  no  one  of  them  receives  so  much  pat- 
ronage as  it  deserves,  and  might  very  usefully  employ.  Let  it  be 
the  endeavor  of  the  particular  friends  of  each  to  increase  the  general 
stock  of  benevolence,  trusting  that,  if  this  be  done,  all  benevolent 
designs  will  receive  a  rapidly  increasing  patronage. 

There  is  one  objection  to  sending  missionaries  abroad  so  com- 
mon, and  so  plausible  at  first  view,  that  it  ought  to  be  mentioned 
A^^   here.     It  is  this :   That  many  ministers  of  the  gospel,  more  than 
^V    I        can  at  present  be  supplied,  are  imperiously  needed  at  home.    This 
'y*^        objection  states  a  melancholy  truth,  but  proceeds  on  a  mistaken 
principle.     If  the  apostles  had  argued  thus,  they  never  would  have 
quitted  Judea ;  the  Gentiles  would  never  have  heard  the  gospel 
till  many  ages  after  the   Christian  era ;  our  ancestors  in   Britain 
would  never  have  been  converted.  The  same  objection  could  have 
applied,  nay,  was  applied,  to  sending  missionaries  from  Connecticut 
and  Massachusetts  to  our  new  settlements,  when  the  domestic 
Missionary  Societies  first  began  their  operations. 

"  But  not  to  dwell  on  this  consideration,  there  is  another  which 
settles  the  debate  at  once  ;  which  is,  That  the  readiest  and  most 
\  efficacious  method  of  promoting  religion  at  home,  is  for  Christians  to 
exert  themselves  to  send  it  abroad.  On  the  most  thorough  examina- 
tion, this  position  will  be  found  strictly  and  literally  true.  When 
missions  to  the  heathen  were  first  contemplated  in  England,  the 
above  objection  was  strongly  urged,  and  with  as  great  plausibil- 
ity as  it  can  ever  be  urged  here.  What  has  been  the  event  ?  The 
number  of  evangelical  preachers  and  professors  of  Christianity  has 
been  increasing  in  that  country,  in  an  unexampled  manner,  during 
the  whole  time  since  the  first  missionaries  sailed  from  England. 
The  increase  of  faithful  preachers  alone  has  more  than  twenty-fold 
exceeded  the  whole  number  of  missionaries  sent  abroad. 

When  it  was  objected,  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate  of  Massa- 
chusetts, to  the  act  for  incorporating  the  Board  in  whose  behalf  we 
speak,  that  it  was  designed  to  afford  the  means  of  exporting  relig- 
ion, whereas  there  was  none  to  spare  from  amoiig  ourselves  ,  it  was 
pleasantly  and  truly  replied  that  religion  was  a  commodity,  of  which 
the  more  we  exported  the  more  we  had  remaining.  Plowever 
strange  this  may  appear  to  some,  it  will  not  seem  strange  to 
hira  who  considers  the  import  of  these  words  :  "  There  is  that 


v^ 


LIFE    OF   EVARTS.  107 

scattereth,  and  yet  increaseth ;  and  there  is  that  withholdeth 
more  than  is  meet,  but  it  tendeth  to  poverty.  He  that  water- 
eth,  shall  be  watered  also  himself.  It  is  more  blessed  to  give 
than  to  receive."  The  government  of  God  is  a  government 
of  benevolence ;  and  is  intended  to  convince  us  that  he  who  does 
good  to  others,  is  most  secure  of  receiving  good  himself  The 
same  remark  which  was  made  respecting  the  increase  of  rehgion 
in  England,  will  apply  to  this  country,  so  far  as  it  has  been  in  sim- 
ilar circumstances." 

The  following  extract  of  a  letter  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Worcester, 
dated  March  31,  1815,  shows  the  activity  of  Mr.  Evarts'  mind 
in  relation  to  missions  during  this  period,  and  the  kind  of  Influence 
he  was  exerting.  The  first  paragraph  refers  to  the  difficul- 
ties encountered  by  the  missionaries  of  the  Board,  In  their  first 
attempts  to  establish  themselves  at  Bombay.  It  seemed  probable, 
from  the  last  advices  then  received,  that  they  would  be  sent  to 
England  by  the  British  authorities  :* 

"  I  am  decided,  however,"  says  Mr.  Evarts,  "  as  at  present  ad- 
vised, that  even  the  return  of  our  missionaries  to  this  country 
should  not  prevent  or  Impede  our  mission  to  Ceylon.  If  we  are 
to  be  the  instruments  of  doing  anything  worth  mention  for  the 
church  of  God  and  the  poor  heathen,  we  must  exhibit  some  of 
that  enterprise  which  Is  observable  In  the  conduct  of  worldly 
men. 

"  I  congratulate  you  on  your  having  an  opportunity,  in  your 
missionary  sermon,  to  make  a  strenuous  effort  In  favor  of  the  good 
cause — perhaps  as  good  an  opportunity  as  can  ever  be  expected 
during  a  whole  life.  If  God  should  smile  on  our  endeavors,  and 
make  our  way  prosperous,  a  good  missionary  sermon  before  our 
Board  will  speak  long  after  Its  author  shall  be  removed  from  this 
world. 

"  This  brings  to  my  mind  another  thought,  which  has  many 
times  occurred  to  me,  which,  however,  I  forgot  to  mention  at 
Newburyport ;  and  that  Is,  that  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 

*  See  Reports  of  ihe  Board  for  1S13  and  1814, — especially  the  Appendix  to  the  lat- 
ter; and  Mr.  Bardwell's  Memoir  of  Rev.  Gordon  Hall,  for  a  particular  account  of  these 
difficulties.  Burmah  was  the  intended  destination  of  the  missionaries  first  sent  out ; 
but  that  plan  was  thwarted,  and  in  the  Providence  of  God,  the  little  band  was  scat- 
tered, and  after  many  months  of  difficulty  and  anxiety,  two  separate  missions  were 
commenced, — one  at  Bombay  and  the  other  on  the  Island  of  Ceylon. 


J 08  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

per  should  be  administered  at  Newburyport  after  the  ordination 
solemnities.  There  may  be  objections  which  I  do  not  foresee  ; 
but  the  proposal  strikes  me  agreeably.  I  know  of  no  proposal 
which  would  bring  so  many  Christians  together,  or  which  would  so 
powerfully  strengthen  the  bonds  of  Christian  love.  The  London 
Missionary  Society  not  only  join  in  this  celebration  at  their  annual 
meeting,  but  in  their  tours  to  form  Auxiliary  Missionary  Societies, 
the  same  ordinance  is  administered  in  all  the  great  towns.  This  is 
done,  so  far  as  I  can  judge,  with  the  best  effects.  At  Newbury- 
port the  occasion  will  be  solemn  ;  the  season  of  the  year  inviting  ; 
the  concourse  of  ministers  and  private  Christians  great ;  the  per- 
formances, 1  presume,  highly  gratifying  ;  the  best  affections  of  the 
pious  heart  called  forth — and  why  should  we  not  there  celebrate 
the  dying  love  of  the  Saviour  ?  I  add,  that  the  churches  repre- 
sented at  the  council  are  numerous,  and  many  Christians  who 
will  there  meet,  will  see  each  other's  faces  no  more  on  this  side  of 
the  grave.  I  know  you  will  think  seriously  of  this,  and  let  me  be 
acquainted  with  the  result  of  your  reflections." 

The  ordination  here  referred  to  was  that  of  six  missionaries, — 
Rev.  Messrs.  Samuel  J.  Mills,  James  Richards,  Jun.,  Edward 
Warren,  Benjamin  C.  Meigs,  Horatio  Bardwell,  and  Daniel  Poor, 
— which  took  place  at  Newburyport  on  the  21st  of  June,  1815. 
After  the  ordination  services  and  a  short  recess,  says  Mr.  Evarts  in 
the  Panoplist,  *'  the  house  of  worship  (the  largest  in  the  common- 
wealth) was  again  filled.  The  communicants  from  different  and 
distant  churches,  to  the  number  of  nearly  seven  hundred,  who 
had  assembled  on  this  interesting  occasion,  were  seated  together, 
and  apparently  with  one  heart  and  one  soul,  celebrated  the  Lord's 
Supper.  *  *  *  The  scene  was  novel  in  this  country,  and  was  un- 
commonly solemn  and  affecting.  To  many,  we  trust,  it  was  a  season 
of  sweet  communion  w^ith  their  ascended  Saviour,  and  long  to  be 
remembered  with  gratitude.  The  view  of  so  many  communicants, 
assembled  from  various  and  distant  churches,  united  in  so  solemn 
an  act  of  fellowship,  never  to  partake  this  feast  together  again  on 
earth,  brought  impressively  before  the  eye  of  faith  the  scenes  of  a 
future  and  invisible  world,  and  to  the  humble  believer  imparted 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 


109 


some  pleasing  foretaste  of  the  future  fellowship  of  the  redeemed 
around  the  throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb." 

In  June,  1816,  Mr.  Evarts  visited  Lower  Canada  and  Western 
New  York,  partly  on  business  and  partly  for  the  benefit  of  his 
health. 

A  letter  to  Dr.  Worcester,  written  during  his  absence,  touches 
upon  a  subject  which  now  and  often  in  subsequent  years  occupied 
much  of  Mr.  Evarts'  attention, — the  observance  of  the  Christian 
Sabbath  : 

"  Through  the  kindness  of  Providence,"  he  says,  "  I  arrived 
here  on  the  10th  instant,  after  a  tedious  journey  of  a  week,  the 
greater  part  of  which  will  long  be  remembered  on  account  of 
snows  and  frosts  hitherto  unparalleled  since  the  settlement  of  these 
northern  regions.  My  health  is  very  good.  I  am  expecting  to 
set  out  for  Montreal  tomorrow  morning.  I  think  the  tour  to  that 
place  may  be  useful  on  several  accounts.  I  shall  endeavor  to 
obtain  information  concerning  the  Indians  at  St.  Regis  and  other 
places,  and  to  learn  the  state  of  the  people  in  Canada  as  to  their 
possessing  the  Scriptures,  schools,  k,c.  I  shall  be  glad  if  I  can 
gain  such  knowledge  of  the  state  of  things  in  Canada,  as  may  be 
of  some  use  to  our  national  Bible  Society.  Should  I  obtain  a 
good  companion  and  a  tolerable  conveyance,  I  think  of  visiting 
Quebec,  in  which  case  I  shall  be  absent  ten  days  or  a  fortnight 
from  the  United  States.  On  my  return  to  this  place,  I  expect  to 
set  out  for  the  westward. 

"  I  have  thought  much,  on  my  journey,  of  the  great  enterprize 
of  restoring  the  sanctity  of  the  Sabbath,  and  raising  the  tone  of 
public  morals.  There  are  more  difficulties  in  the  way  of  attaining 
these  objects  than  most  reflecting  men  are  aware  of;  the  enemies 
of  reformation  are  in  possession  of  many  more  strong-holds  than 
they  even  dream  of;  and  without  the  particular  care  and  interpo- 
sition of  God,  I  should  hold  the  consummation  which  we  desire, 
as  entirely  hopeless.  In  regard  to  the  Sabbath,  I  should  think  it 
rash  to  expect  a  victory  without  a  series  of  defeats  for  at  least 
twenty  years.  I  speak  of  the  matter  on  the  supposition  that  God 
proceeds  with  a  series  of  favorahle,  but  not  decisive  interpositions, 
and  brings  forward   the  good  cause  quite  as  fast  as  is  usual  in  his 


no 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 


providence.     The  question  then  comes  up,  how  are  we  to  support 
a  war  of  twenty  years  under  a  succession  of  defeats  ?     This  is  a 
serious  question,  and  is  not  to   be   disposed  of  by  a  few   sanguine 
hopes  and  wishes.     I  have  thought  much  of  this  question,  and  my 
judgment  is  that  we  must  begin  at  the   beginning.     We   are  to 
accompUsh  an  object  by  instruments.     We  must  first  obtain  these 
instruments  ;  and  the  first  thing  to  be  done  is  to  pray  specifically 
that  God  would  raise  up,  anoint,  and  set  forth   in   the  view  of  all 
good  people,  the  instruments  which  he  will  deign  to  employ.     We 
want  a  man  possessing  every  good  quality  of  Wilberforce  ;  and  we 
want  such  a  man  set  forth,  in  the  view  of  all  our   people,  as   an 
instrument  of  good  to  mankind.     It  is  a  notorious   truth,  and   one 
which  we  may  speak  to  each  other,  that  there  is  not  in  Massachu- 
setts a  single  man  capable  of  leading  the  moral  exertions  of  the 
friends  of  religion  and  morality.     I  mean   there  is  not  a   man  in 
civil  life,  and  known  to  the   public,  who   can  lead   these   efforts 
with  a  tenth  part  of  the  ability  that  Mr.  Otis  or  Mr.  Gore  could 
display  on  political  subjects.     I  have  but  just  entered  on  this  sub- 
ject, and  must  leave  it,  merely  observing  that   God   is   as  able  to 
raise  up  a  Wilberforce  on  this  side   the  Atlantic  as  on  the  other. 
If  we  are  to  have  a  Wilberforce,  who  shall  be  received   and  hon- 
ored as  such,  he  is  probably  now  at  school,  or  at  college,  but  may 
be  brought  forward  before  the  war  ends.     In   the   mean   time  we 
must  use  such  instruments  as  we  have." 

"  You  must  not  suppose,  from  my  mentioning  Mr.  Wilberforce, 
that  I  consider  it  as  easy  to  obtain  a  victory  in  our  case  as  in  his 
great  enterprizes.  It  would  be  a  hundred  times  as  difficult  to 
restore  the  Sabbath  in  London  as  to  abolish  the  slave  trade  or 
open  India  to  missionaries." 

In  accordance  with  the  plan  indicated  in  this  letter,  Mr.  Evarts 
visited  Montreal  and  Quebec,  and  then  the  Western  part  of  New 
York,  as  far  as  the  Falls  of  Niagara,  returning  by  way  of  Albany 
to  Charlestown. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1817  the  health  of  Mr.  Evarts  became 
seriously  impaired,  and  he  was  advised  by  his  physician,  that  re- 
laxation from  business  and  a  visit  to  a  milder  climate  were  of 
essential  importance  to  its  restoration.     He  arranged  his  business 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  m 

accordingly  ;  and  receiving  from  the  Committee  a  commission  as 
general  agent  of  the  Board,  formed  his  plans  so  as  to  make  his 
absence,  while  securing  the  great  object  of  health,  as  subservient 
as  possible  to  its  interests.  He  embarked  for  Savannah  on  the 
20th  of  January,  1818  ;  and  arrived  at  that  port,  after  a  stormy 
and  dangerous  passage,  on  the  9th  of  February.  An  account  of 
his  subsequent  proceedings  will  be  given  chiefly  in  extracts  from 
his  letters  and  journals. 

Savannah,  Feb.  9.  Landed  from  the  Adeline  and  walked  up 
to  the  city.  Passed  two  or  three  plantations, — one  owned  by  an 
Englishman  whose  slaves  are  said  to  be  hardly  used.  I  saw  two 
gangs  of  them,  amounting  to  thirty  in  all,  employed  in  ditching. 
It  would  be  called  a  cold  day  for  that  business  with  us.  Some  of 
the  men  stood  in  mud  half-leg  deep.  The  women,  who  were  as 
numerous  as  the  men,  stood  on  the  margin  of  the  ditch,  and 
scraped  out  the  mud  with  a  long  hoe.  They  were  pretty  warmly 
clad  ;  but  in  general  looked  disconsolate  and  out  of  temper. 

10.  Visited  Mr.  Hubbard,  a  missionary  sent  by  ladles  in  Boston,    < 
who  is  near  his  end   of  consumption.     He  has  been  treated   with 
the  utmost  kindness,  and  is  visited  by  a  number  of  pious    persons 
of  both  sexes.     His  mind  is  in  a  very  happy  state. 

11.  Attended  an  auction,  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  a  negro 
sold  to  the  highest  bidder.  It  was  a  humiliating  spectacle,  to  see 
a  human  being  put  up  with  damaged  cheese,  shoes,  he.  &;c.,  to 
be  disposed  of  for  life  to  any  man  who  might  purchase  him.  The 
fellow  looked  disconsolate. 

18.  The  richness  of  this  country  in  agricultural  produce  is 
astonishing.  Mr.  M.  informed  me  that  the  State  of  Georgia,  con- 
taining only  300,000  inhabitants,  white  and  black,  had  exported 
^30,000,000  worth  of  produce  in  the  last  three  years, — that  is, 
^10,000,000  a  year  ;  a  greater  sum,  in  his  opinion  and  in  mine, 
than  was  ever  received  before  for  the  produce  of  agricultural  labor 
by  any  community  of  the  same  population  since  the  days  of  Noah. 
Produce  to  the  amount  of  ^8,000,000  is  annually  purchased  at 
Augusta.  The  peace  [1815]  found  the  planters  in  this  and  the 
neighboring  states  greatly  in  debt ;  but  they  have  been  completely 
extricated  and  made  rich  by  their  exports.     Cotton  can  be  afforded 


112  L^FE   OF  EVARTS, 

by  the  planter,  even  at  the  present  high  price  of  plantations  and 
stock  (i.  e.  negroes  !)  at  15  cents  a  pound.  The  price  is  31 
cents  ;  and  it  has  been  33.  Rice  is  an  excellent  crop  at  ^3  per 
hundred  pounds  ;  the  present  price  is  .^6,25. 

Dr.  K.  informs  me  that  there  are  two  large  churches  and  con- 
gregations of  blacks  in  this  city,  under  the  care  of  black  preachers, 
who  are  Methodists.  Sometimes  there  are  1,500  communicants 
at  one  of  these  places.  The  Methodists  are  universally  allowed 
to  have  done  great  good  to  the  slaves. 

1 9.  I  have  this  week  distributed  reports,  &;c  ,  and  am  intend- 
ing to  leave  this  place  for  Beaufort  next  week.  My  intended 
course  is  thence  through  Charleston,  Georgetown,  and  Columbia, 
to  Augusta  ;  and  thence  through  Waynesboro',  Sparta,  and 
Athens,  to  Chickamaugah. 

21.  Called  at  a  painter's  room,  to  see  a  portrait  of  the  countess 
of  Huntington.  It  was  brought  out  by  Mr.  Whltefield  and  placed 
in  his  Orphan  Asylum.  The  countess  is  represented  as  walking 
in  a  wilderness,  holding  a  crown  of  thorns  in  her  right  hand,  and 
placing  her  right  foot  on  the  coronet,  which,  as  a  countess,  she 
had  a  right  to  wear.  Her  person  is  tall,  erect,  and  slender ;  her 
countenance  bears  the  marks  of  mortification  and  abstraction  from 
the  world.  The  friend  of  religion  will  not  fall  to  reflect  on  the 
exalted  virtue  which  this  distinguished  female  exhibited,  and  on 
the  vast  results,  through  eternity,  of  her  activity  in  the  service  of 
God.  How  trifling  will  all  the  decorations  of  nobility  appear  at 
the  last  day  ;  and  how  fearful  will  be  the  condition  of  those  who 
shall  have  perverted  the  influence  of  their  stations,  and  abused 
their  wealth,  and  hardened  themselves  in  sin,  while  possessing  the 
means  of  extensive  usefulness  !  Had  all  the  nobility  of  Great 
Britain  possessed  the  spirit  of  the  countess  of  Huntington,  what  an 
aspect  would  that  Island  now  exhibit ! 

23.  Had  an  interesting  conversation  with  Dr.  K.  about  Eng- 
land and  France,  where  he  had  travelled.  I  suggested  an  opinion 
which  I  had  deliberately  formed,  and  as  to  the  correctness  of 
which  I  wished  his  judgment,  viz.  that  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  including  all  classes,  slaves,  new  settlements,  he,  are  bet- 
ter supplied  with  really  evangelical  preaching  than  the  people  of 
England.     To  this  he  expressed  his  deliberate  assent. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 


113 


March  3.  Left  Savannah  this  morning  in  the  steamboat  for 
Charleston. — I  found,  by  taking  part  in  the  exercises  last  evening, 
[the  Monthly  Concert  for  prayer]  that  my  voice  could  be  used 
with  less  injury  than  when  I  left  home. 

13.  Charleston.  Was  eKtremely  happy,  after  being  disap- 
pointed a  long  time,  to  receive  letters  from  home.  One  of  them 
informs  me  of  the  birth  of  a  son.  For  this  signal  favor  of  divine 
providence,  I  hope  to  be  thankful.  I  commend  the  babe  to  the 
merciful  protection  of  Heaven  ;  and  pray  that  its  soul  may  be 
saved  in  the  day  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  however  it  may  please  God 
to  dispose  of  its  temporal  state. 

Negroes  are  very  dear  here,  and  in  all  the  southern  country  at 
present.  Mr.  B.  gave  -92,800  lately  for  a  woman  and  her  five 
children,  the  eldest  of  which  was  but  ten,  and  only  two  could  be 
of  any  service  as  yet.  The  woman  looked  disconsolate,  having 
formed  an  opinion  that  her  master  would  make  her  free,  as  he  was 
about  leaving  this  country.  She  was  greatly  disappointed  on  be- 
ing sold,  though  not  dissatisfied  with  her  new  master.  Mr.  M. 
said  he  would  give  .^  1,500  for  a  fellow  as  good  as  one  he  showed 
me,  for  a  driver.  The  one  to  whom  he  referred,  was  not  a  very 
intelligent  fellow  ;  but  remarkably  active,  faithful,  and  fond  of 
work,  about  twenty-five,  a  native  African. 

Mr.  M.  and  Mr.  B.  agreed  in  the  opinion,  that  slavery  and  the  <  ^IJ. 
improvememt  of  the  minds  of  slaves  were  incompatible.  Mr.  M. 
was  also  of  opinion,  that  all  the  low  southern  country  can  never 
support  a  white  population,  without  the  labor  of  slaves.  Whites 
will  experience  certain  death,  if  they  attempt  to  labor  in  the  field 
here  in  the  hottest  weather.  Mr.  M.  does  not  think  that  one  out 
of  200  would  live  a  single  summer.  It  has  been  tried  abundantly, 
by  the  most  hardy  men,  and  always  proved  fatal,  or  at  least 
brought  on  sickness  that  compelled  them  to  desist.  Negroes,  on 
the  contrary,  bear  the  heat  not  only  without  complaining,  but  with 
pleasure.  Mr.  M.  has  been  in  the  southern  country  thirty-one 
years,  and  never  heard  a  negro  complain  of  heat.  They  lie  down 
in  the  sun  of  choice,  when  it  is  almost  vertical,  and  when  a  white 
man  could  not  do  it  for  five  minutes  without  inevitable  death. 
Yet  in  this  situation  they  will  lie  for  hours  asleep. 
15 


114  LIFE   OF   EVARTS. 

Another  man  told  me  that  they  were  very  fond  of  a  fire  in 
their  cabins  all  summer,  when  the  whites  are  panting  and  gasping 
for  breath.  Mulattoes  bear  the  heat  less  pleasantly  than  the  ne- 
groes, though  brought  up  in  all  respects  alike. — I  observe  compar- 
atively few  mulattoes  on  the  plantations. 

At  11  o'clock  this  day,  I  attended  a  sale  of  slaves  belonging  to 
the  estate  of  a  gentleman  lately  deceased.  The  gang  consisted  of 
105,  as  I  counted  them  ;  and  they  were  said  to  be  one  of  the  best 
gangs  offered  for  sale,  as  their  master  had  been  uniformly  kind  to 
them.     Several  other  small  lots  were  sold  at  the  same  time. 

I  noted  down  with  a  pencil  several  particulars  of  the  sale, 
which  I  shall  now  enter  here.  The  negroes,  put  up  at  one  time, 
were  mounted  on  a  large  table,  and  before  the  sale  began,  their 
characters  and  qualities  were  given.  The  greater  part  of  them 
looked  exceedingly  disconsolate,  much  as  if  they  were  led  to  exe- 
cution. Many  were  bathed  in  tears.  Some  few  had  an  appear- 
ance of  little  concern.  They  were  put  up  in  families,  so  far  as 
families  existed,  which  was  the  case  with  the  far  greater  number. 
A  job  carpenter  and  his  wife  went  at  ^1,000  each — a  field 
woman  at  ^560. 

I  observed  that  there  was  a  prevalent  disposition  to  depreciate 
themselves,  in  the  poor  creatures  when  spoken  to,  and  to  represent 
themselves  as  sickly  and  unable  to  work,  and  to  represent  their 
children  as  sickly.  Some  appeared  to  tell  the  truth  as  to  their 
ability  ;  but  not  one  wished  to  show  himself  off  to  advantage. 
The  reason  is  obvious.  The  more  a  slave's  new  master  gave  for 
him,  the  more  he  would  expect  of  him. 

I  am  told  that  in  these  sales  generally,  the  slaves  speak  before- 
hand to  some  gentleman  whom  they  know,  requesting  him  to  come 
forward  and  purchase  them.  This  they  do  with  the  utmost  im- 
portunity, as  they  dread  to  be  sold  to  a  bad,  or  an  unknown  mas- 
ter. It  was  pretty  evident  that  most  of  the  sales  to-day  were 
made  to  persons  to  whom  the  slaves  had  made  application. 
I  heard  a  gentleman  say  that  a  lot  of  nine  which  he  had  pur- 
chased, were  taken  by  him  in  consequence  of  their  importunity. 
He  gave  a  high  price  for  them  ;  but  seemed  to  take  it  for  granted 
that  he  should  have  bought  them  at  any  rate.  There  were  ex- 
peptions  to  this  observation,  a  considerable  number  being  sold  to 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  U5 

masters  whom  they  had  never  seen  ;  which,  when  they  ascertained 
the  fact,  occasioned  the  bitterest  disappointment.  A  touchinf 
case  of  this  kind  was  that  of  the  last  lot  above-mentioned.  They 
had  evidently  expected  to  be  purchased  by  some  one  to  whom 
they  had  applied ;  but  when  they  were  struck  off,  the  name  of  a 
different  man  was  announced.  One  of  them  remarked  with 
amazement,  that  "  he  did  not  know  the  man  ;"  to  which  it  was 
tauntingly  replied,  "  He  will  soon  know  you."  The  mingled 
emotions  of  grief,  rage,  indignation,  and  despair,  which  were  ex- 
pressed by  their  countenances,  and  which  found  vent  in  tears  and 
broken  sentences,  are  indescribable.  Particularly  was  this  the 
case  with  an  apprentice,  who,  if  there  is  any  dependence  upon 
physiognomy,  was  a  fine  fellow  indeed. 

But  there  were  scenes  more  affecting  than  this.  I  refer  to  the 
joy  expressed  by  slaves,  when  their  relatives  and  friends  were 
purchased  according  to  their  wishes,  by  those  whom  they  con- 
sidered as  good  masters.  Several  instances  fell  within  my  own 
observation,  of  the  warmest  congratulations  being  offered  to  those 
who  had  just  descended  from  the  table.  The  most  affecting  case 
was  that  of  two  brothers,  who  went  for  ^1,220  each.  They 
w^ere  purchased  by  a  lady,  according  to  their  wishes.  A  wife,  or 
a  sister,  could  not  refrain  from  casting  her  arms  round  the  neck  of 
one  of  them,  and  the  congratulations  which  they  received  from 
many  blacks  at  once,  were  earnest  and  even  passionate.  An  old 
negro  was  giving  them  a  charge  to  honor  their  new  mistress,  when 
the  lady  herself  appeared,  (though  the  auction  was  attended  by 
her  agent,)  and  was  thanked  in  the  most  expressive  manner  for 
having  made  the  purchase.  Her  feelings  were  entirely  overpow^- 
ered.     She  could  not  speak,  but  shed  a  profusion  of  tears. 

The  only  blow  which  I  have  as  yet  seen  given  to  a  negro,  was 
given  by  a  gentleman  of  respectable  appearance,  in  the  area  of 
the  exchange,  just  before  the  sale  began.  For  some  language, 
which  the  gentleman  doubtless  considered  impertinent,  the  negro 
received  a  blow  on  the  jaw,  and  walked  away  quietly  as  though 
nothing  unusual  had  taken  place.  1  thought  the  gentleman  con- 
sulted his  dignity  very  little  in  the  case. 

The  negroes  did  not  look  so  stout  by  any  means  as  the  laboring 
white   population  of  any   part  of    our  country.      They   looked 


IIQ  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

healthy,  however;  especially  the  children.  Having  just  received 
the  news  of  the  birth  of  a  child,  I  could  not  but  think  how  differ- 
ently the  destinies  of  men  are  disposed  of  in  this  world.  My 
children  might  be  taken  and  sold  with  as  much  justice  and  pro- 
priety as  the  immense  multitude  of  native  Africans,  who  have 
been  stolen  and  transported  across  the  ocean. 

23.  Left  Charleston  for  Georgetown.  At  a  tavern  on  the 
V  road,  was  much  surprized  and  pleased  to  find  a  missionary-box  to 
receive  contributions  for  educating  heathen  youth.  Judging  from 
the  example  of  my  fellow-passengers,  the  box  receives  but  little 
money.  One  of  them  imprecated  a  curse  upon  himself,  if  he  ever 
gave  a  cent  for  that  purpose.  I  entered  into  some  discussion  with 
him  ;  but,  although  it  was  easy  to  silence  him,  it  was  not  easy  to 
alter  his  feelings. 

April   6.     Charleston.     Mr.   M'Dowell   was  at   Charleston   a 
week  before  me.     I  might  have  come  on   with  him ;  but  it  was 
not  desirable,  on  any  account,  that  there  should  be  an  appearance 
of  interference  with  each  other.     Indeed,  the  Presbyterian  church 
ought  to  have  a  fair  opportunity  to  make   its  appeal,  especially  to 
its  own  members ;  and  Mr.  M'D.  had  made  preparation  by  letter, 
so  that  the  people  were  expecting  him.     He  has  succeeded  very 
well. 
V        I  was  never  in  a  place  where  so  many  people  might  give  largely, 
without  abridging  any  luxury,  as  here  ;  and  the  mass  of  them  do 
give  more  liberally  than  the  mass  of  people  of  the  same  wealth  in 
New  England.     But  it  does  not  require  a  tenth  part  of  the  self- 
denial  to  give  here,  as   with  us.     Money  is  very  easily  obtained  ; 
especially  by  those  who  have  a  competency  already.     Gen.  P. 
told  me  that  he  made  but  half  a  crop  last  year.     I  remarked  that 
I  supposed  it   hardly  paid  expenses.     He  said,  somewhat  more. 
Only  think  what  sort  of  agriculture  this  is,  when  three-quarters  of 
an  ordinary  crop,  after  paying  every  expense,  is  clear   gain  to  the 
owner,  and  that  without  any  personal  labor  of  his  own  ! 
>       The  question,  how  we  are  to  receive  a  regular  accession  of  do- 
nations for  our  Board  from  the  South,  has  dwell  a  good  deal  on  my 
mind.     I  have  thought  much  of  a  circular  letter,  not  of  the  com- 
mon sort,  than  which   nothing  can   be   more   inefficient ;  but  one 
adapted  to  make  each  individual  addressed  feel  that  the  appeal  is 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  117 

made  to  him  particularly,  and  aimed  directly  and  boldly  at  his 
heart.  We  have  conversed  together  about  a  letter  for  very  rich 
men.  This  is  wanted,  and  will  do  good.  We  want  at  least  two 
others,  which  1  thought  much  of  while  at  Georgetown  ;  one  de- 
signed for  persons  possessed  pf  a  competency,  who  maintain  the 
character  of  exemplary  Christians,  calculated  to  induce  them  to 
make  regular,  unsolicited,  and  punctual  remittances  for  our  ob- 
jects. The  other  should  be  addressed  to  persons  of  whom  less 
can  be  hoped  in  a  systematic  way,  but  who  would  do  something: 
handsome,  if  the  subject  were  brought  powerfully  to  their  minds  by 
a  concise  abstract  of  facts  and  arguments. 

8.  Left  Charleston  in  the  stage  for  Columbia.  We  rode 
thirty-eight  miles  in  eleven  hours.  The  country  generally  is  sparse- 
ly covered  with  yellow  pine.  There  is  scarcely  a  half-mile  on 
any  of  the  great  roads  in  New  England,  in  which  more  agricul- 
tural enterprise  would  not  be  seen,  than  in  the  whole  thirty-four 
miles  after  passing  the  Four  Mile  House. 

10.  Columbia.  The  greater  part  of  the  country  on  the  way- 
side extremely  barren  ;  but  as  we  approached  the  Congaree,  there 
were  extensive  plantations.  This  land  could  not  be  bought  of 
the  owners  ;  but  when  a  plantation  is  sold  to  settle  an  estate,  it 
goes  at  ^60  an  acre,  or  more.  A  great  part  of  the  land  between 
this  place  and  Charleston  would  not  be  taken  as  a  gift.  The 
country  is  settled  in  the  most  unfavorable  manner,  both  to  the  pro- 
motion of  the  gospel  and  to  the  general  diffusion  of  knowledge. 

13.  Mr.  — ,  himself  a  wealthy  man,  thinks  that  large  planters 
ought  to  have  their  slaves  taught  to  read,  and  to  maintain  a  spir- 
itual teacher  for  them  alone.  He  says  they  can  afford  it  well 
enough — as  indeed  they  can. 

Between  the  sea-coast  and  the  middle  country,  that  is,  for 
about  one  hundred  miles,  is  extremely  unhealthy  from  the  first 
of  July  to  November.  It  is  reckoned  almost  certain  death  for  a 
northern  man  to  pass  through  that  region  during  those  months. 
I  now  have  particularly  in  view  the  road  from  Charleston  to  Co- 
lumbia. 

15.  Augusta.  Arrived  here  yesterday,  excessively  fatigued. 
Went  to  bed  with  a  fever,  and  was  kept  awake  four  hours  by 
fatigue  and  pain. 


118 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 


At  Augusta  Mr.  Evarts  attended  the  sessions  of  the  Synod  of 
South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  and  did  much,  by  intercourse  with 
the  members,  to  excite  an  interest  in  favor  of  Foreign  Missions, 
and  to  secure  the  co-operation  of  the  Presbyterian  churches  in 
those  states  for  the  promotion  of  the  great  objects  of  the  Board. 

The  preceding  extracts  exhibit  him  almost  exclusively  as  a 
traveller,  and  by  no  means  give,  by  themselves,  an  adequate  or 
even  correct  view  of  his  employments.  Wherever  he  went,  and 
especially  at  Savannah  and  Charleston,  he  was  diligently  laboring, 
.  to  the  utmost  of  his  little  strength,  in  diffusing  information  respect- 
in  ^  Foreign  Missions,  by  personal  intercourse  with  the  pious  and 
intelligent,  by  public  addresses,  and  by  various  other  means  ;  in 
soliciting  donations,  and  making  arrangements  to  secure  future  re- 
mittances of  funds  ;  in  promoting  other  objects  of  Christian  be- 
nevolence ;  and  in  writing  for  the  Panoplist.  It  was  the  first  visit 
of  an  officer  of  the  Board  to  the  churches  in  that  region  ;  and  he 
found  that  much  labor  was  needed,  to  make  those  churches  ac- 
quainted with  the  subject  of  missions  to  the  heathen,  and  to  bring 
them  to  appreciate  and  heartily  co-operate  in  the  objects,  plans, 
and  proceedings  of  the  Board. 

TO     REV.     DR.     WORCESTER. 

Hancock  Co.,  Georgia,  April  29,  1818. 

In  my  letter  of  the  25th,  from  Augusta,  I  had  not  room  nor 
lime  to  say  all  I  wished  relative  to  my  progress  from  Charleston 
to  that  place,  nor  to  account  for  my  being  about  a  fortnight  be- 
hind my  calculations,  as  I  actually  am.  I  would  observe,  in  the 
first  place,  that  no  person  from  the  north  can  have  an  adequate 
>  view  of  the  difficulty  of  getting  from  place  to  place  in  the  south- 
ern states.  I  could  not  go  across  from  Georgetown  to  Columbia, 
as  I  had  hoped  ;  for  there  was  no  possible  means  of  conveyance. 
The  extreme  backwardness  of  the  season,  and  the  badness  of  the 
roads,  kept  me  from  pushing  forward  as  I  otherwise  might  have 
done.  When  at  last  I  came  to  inquire  at  the  stage-house  for  a 
passage  to  Columbia,  I  found  that  the  stage  went  but  once  a  week 
from  Charleston  to  the  capital  of  the  state.  I  was  detained  five 
days  on  this  account.     The  stage  was  three  days   in  going  123 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  ng 

miles.     I  was  obliged  to  wait  three   days   for    the   northern  stage, 
and  thus  did  not  reach  Augusta  till  Tuesday  evening  the  14th. 

30.  Sparta.  The  two  objects  of  my  journey,  so  far  as  health 
is  concerned,  were,  to  avoid  the  evils  of  a  northern  climate,  and 
to  gain  strength  by  a  tour  on  horseback.  The  first  has  been 
completely  attained  ;  for  a  blessing  on  the  latter,  upon  which  I 
am  now  about  to  enter,  I  look  to  a  kind  Providence.  I  had 
gained  so  much  strength  at  Charleston,  as  to  be  able  to  walk  six 
miles  in  the  course  of  a  day  without  much  fatigue.  My  ill  turn 
at  Augusta  put  me  back  ;  but  I  now  feel  much  as  before. 

While  at  Augusta,  I  distributed  copies  of  the  Reports  and  the 
Missionary  Herald  among  the  members  of  the  Presbytery  and 
Synod  convened  there — conversed,  as  I  had  opportunity,  on  mis- 
sions— and  endeavored  to  increase  a  missionary  influence.  The 
Synod  appointed  a  committee  to  prepare  a  constitution  for  a 
Missionary  Society.  I  sought  an  interview  with  them,  to  request 
that  the  basis  might  be  so  broad,  that  aid  could  be  afforded,  should 
the  funds  permit,  to  our  operations.  To  this  they  had  no  objec- 
tion. Nothing  more  was  done,  however,  than  to  recommend  to 
all  the  cono-resations  the  formation  of  local  societies.  Should  this 
be  done  with  considerable  zeal,  we  could  address  circulars  and 
other  papers  to  the  several  societies,  and  it  would  be  strange  if 
none  should  produce  any  effect. 

On  the  8th  of  May  he  reached  Chickamaugah  (afterwards 
Brainerd,)  by  way  of  Springplace,  where  he  spent  a  day  of  great 
interest  to  himself  with  the  venerable  Moravian  missionary.  Rev. 
John  Gambold.  The  mission  at  Springplace  was  commenced  in 
1801,  and  had  for  thirteen  years  been  under  the  care  of  Mr. 
Gambold.  On  leaving  him,  says  Mr.  Evarts,  "  I  could  not  but 
reflect  on  the  dignified  character  and  noble  employment  of  the 
consistent  and  devoted  missionary.  Happy  they  who  sustain  this 
character  and  spend  their  lives  in  this  employment.  Happy  they, 
who,  when  their  Lord  cometh,  shall  be  found  instructing  the  igno- 
rant, and  spreading  the  Saviour's  name  where  it  has  never  been 
known  before."  In  a  letter  to  his  family  he  speaks  of  this  visit 
with  evident  delisht : 


120  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

"  I  rejoice  that  I  have  had  opportunity  to  pay  him  (Mr.  Gram- 
bold)  a  visit.  At  his  house  I  saw  a  most  happy  exemplification 
of  the  pastoral,  domestic,  and  social  virtues,  as  produced  by 
genuine  Christianity ;  and  it  will  certainly  be  my  own  fault,  if  the 
day  spent  there  proves  not  one  of  the  most  profitable  of  my  life. 
Mr.  Gambold  is  fifty-eight  and  his  wife  fifty-six.  They  were  mar- 
ried for  the  mission,  at  an  advanced  period  of  life,  and  have  been 
employed  in  it  together  for  thirteen  years.  A  happier  couple  will 
uot  easily  be  found ;  and  their  happiness  arises  primarily  from  love 
to  their  Saviour,  and  next  from  the  prosecution  of  a  noble  end,  in 
the  manner  which  the  Saviour  commanded.  An  elder  brother  of 
Mr.  Gambold  came  on  a  visit  of  two  months,  and  finding  it  so 
happy  a  place,  has  prolonged  his  visit  for  nine  years,  and  is  now  in 
no  haste  to  be  gone.  The  two  men  manage  their  farm.  Mrs. 
Gambold  is  assisted  by  a  mulatto  servant  and  her  little  boy,  in  her 
domestic  afiairs.  Mr.  Gambold  and  his  wife  and  brother  are  all 
alive  on  religious  subjects,  and  think  of  little  but  their  employ- 
ments, their  Redeemer,  and  their  reward  in  heaven. 

"  It  was  on  Friday  evening,  the  8th  inst.,  just  after  sun-set,  that  I 
alighted  at  Brainerd.  The  path  which  leads  to  the  mission-house 
from  the  main  road,  passes  through  an  open  wood,  which  is  extreme- 
ly beautiful  at  this  season  of  the  year.  The  mild  radiance  of  the 
setting  sun,  the  unbroken  solitude  of  the  wilderness,  the  pleasant- 
ness of  the  forest  with  all  its  springing  and  blossoming  vegetation, 
the  object  of  my  journey,  and  the  nature  and  design  of  the  institu- 
tion which  I  was  about  to  visit,  conspired  to  render  the  scene 
solemn  and  interesting,  and  to  fill  the  mind  with  tender  emotions. 
"  Early  in  the  evening,  the  children  of  the  school,  being  m- 
formed  that  one  of  their  northern  friends,  whom  they  had  been 
expecting,  had  arrived,  eagerly  assembled  in  the  hall,  and  were 
drawn  up  in  ranks  and  particularly  introduced.  They  are  neither 
shy  nor  forward  in  their  manners.  To  a  stranger  they  appear  not 
less  interesting  than  other  children  of  the  same  age  ;  but  if  he  con- 
siders their  circumstances  and  prospects,  incomparably  more  so. 

"  At  evening  prayers,  I  was  forcibly  struck  with  the  stillness, 
order,  and  decorum  of  the  children,  and  with  the  solemnity  of  the 
family  worship.  A  portion  of  the  Scriptures  was  read,  with  Scott's 
practical  observations  ;  a  hymn  was  sung,  in  which  a  large  portion 
of  the  children  united,  and  Mr.  Hoyt  led  the  devotions  of  the  nu- 
merous family.  If  all  the  members  of  the  Board  could  hear  the 
prayers,  whicli  are  daily  offered  in  their  behalf  at  tliis  station,  (and 
I  presume  at  all  others  under  their  superintendence  ;)  and  if  all  the 
patrons  and  contributors  could  hear  the  thanks  which  are  returned 
to  God  for  their  liberality  ;  and  especially,  if  they  could  see  a  large 
circle  of  children,  lately  rescued  from  heathenism,  kneeling  with 
apparent  seriousness  and  engaging  in  the  solemnities  of  Christian 
worship,  one  of  them  already,  a  hopeful  convert,  and  others  thought- 
ful and  inquiring ; — if  all  these  things  could  be  seen,  one  may 
safely  predict  that  the  exertions  and  sacrifices  of  the  friends  of 
missions  would  be  increased  four-fold.  These  things  are  not  the 
less  real,  however,  because  they  cannot  be  seen  by  every  friend  to 
the  cause." 


LIFE    OF   EVARTS.  121 

This  was  the  first  mission  amono;  the  Indians  that  the  Board  , 
-established.  ]Mr,  Evarts  was  fully  employed  during  the  three 
weeks  that  he  spent  among  the  Cherokees — nearly  the  whole  time  <  Kl^, 
at  Brainerd  (Chickamaugah,)  in  obtaining  information  of  essential 
importance  to  the  Committee  at  home,  and  in  consultations  and 
arrangements  respecting  future  operations  there  and  in  other  parts 
of  the  Indian  country.  The  completion  of  arrangements  for  estab- 
lishing a  mission  among  the  Choctaws,  especially,  demanded 
much  time  and  very  serious  attention.  In  this,  and  indeed  in  all 
his  labors  there,  he  was  greatly  assisted  by  Mr.  Cornelius,*  who 
arrived  a  few  days  after  him,  and  left  the  nation  at  the  same  time. 
The  mission  at  Brainerd  had  been  commenced  only  sixteen  months 
before.  The  success  that  had  attended  it,  and  its  whole  aspect 
was  in  a  high  degree  animating  to  Mr.  Evarts ;  he  examined 
minutely  all  its  concerns  ;  entered  with  the  liveliest  sympathy  into 
the  feelings  of  his  missionary  brethren,  and  prepared  himself  to 
be  an  invaluable  counsellor,  after  his  return,  in  regard  to  every  thing 
connected  with  Indian  missions.  The  following  paragraphs  are 
of  the  same  date  with  the  last  extract : 

"Particular  mention  has  akeady  been  made  of  Catharine  Brown; 
but  I  think  you  will  be  pleased  to  hear  something  more  of  this  in- 
teresting female.  Her  parents  are  half-breeds,  who  have  never 
learnt  to  speak  English ;  yet  if  you  were  to  see  her  at  a  boarding- 
school  in  New-England,  as  she  ordinarily  appears  here,  you  would 
not  distinguish  her  from  well-educated  females  of  the  same  age, 
either  by  her  complexion,  features,  dress,  pronunciation,  or  man- 
ners. If  your  attention  were  directed  to  her  particularly,  you 
would  notice  a  more  than  ordinary  modesty  and  reserve.  If  you 
were  to  see  her  in  a  religious  meeting  of  pious  females,  you  would 
hot  distinguish  her,  unless  by  her  more  than  common  simplicity 
and  humility.  When  she  joined  the  school  in  July  last,  (having 
come  more  than  one  hundred  miles  for  that  sole  purpose,)  she 
could  read  in  syllables  of  three  letters,  and  was  seventeen  years 
old.  From  her  superior  manners  and  comely  person  she  had  prob- 
ably attracted  more  attention,  than  any  other  female  in  the  nation. 
She  was  vain,  and  excessively  fond  of  dress,  wearing  a  profusion 
of  ornaments  m  her  ears.  She  can  now  read  well  in  the  Bible,  is 
fond  of  reading  other  books,  and  has  been  particularly  pleased 
with  the  Memoirs  of  Mrs.  Newell.  Last  fall  she  became  serious, 
is  believed  to  have   experienced  religion   in  the  course   of  the 

*Rev.  Elias  Cornelius,  afterwards  Mr.  Evarts'  successor  as  Corresponding-  Secre- 
tary lo  the  Board. 

16 


122 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 


autumn,  and  was  baptized  and  admitted  to  the  church  in  January. 
Since  that  time  she  has  been  constantly  in  the  family  ;  and  all  the 
female  members  of  it  have  the  most  intimate  knowledge  of  her 
conduct,  and  receive  a  frank  disclosure  of  her  feelings.  It  is  their 
unanimous  oi)inion,  that  she  gives  uncommon  evidence  of  piety. 
At  meetings  for  social  prayer  and  religious  improvement,  held  by 
them  on  every  Thursday  afternooa  and  Sabbath  evening,  Cath- 
arine prays  in  her  turn,  much  to  the  gratification  of  her  sisters 
in  Christ.  Her  prayers  are  distinguished  by  great  simplicity, 
as  to  thought  and  language,  and  seem  to  be  the  filial  aspirations 
of  the  devout  child.  Before  Mrs.  Chamberlin  took  charge  of 
the  girls,  Catherine  had,  of  her  own  accord,  commenced  evening- 
prayer  with  them,  just  as  they  were  retiring  to  rest.  Sometime 
after  this  practice  had  been  begun,  it  was  discovered  by  one  of 
the  missionaries,  who,  happening  to  pass  by  the  cabin  where 
the  girls  lodge,  overheard  her  pouring  (brth  her  desires  in  very 
afiecting  and  appropriate  language.  On  being  inquired  of  re- 
specting it,  she  simply  observed  that  she  had  prayed  with  the  girls, 
because  she  thought  it  was  her  duty.  Yet  this  young  woman, 
whose  conduct  might  now  reprove  many  professing  Christians  that 
have  been  instructed  in  religion  from  their  infancy,  only  ten  months 
ago  had  never  heard  of  Jesus  Christ,  nor  had  a  single  thought 
whether  the  soul  survived  the  body  or  not.  Since  she  became  re- 
ligious, her  trinkets  have  gradually  disappeared,  till  only  a  single 
drop  remains  in  each  ear.  On  hearing  that  pious  females  have,  in 
many  instances,  devoted  their  ornaments  to  the  missionary  cause, 
she  has  determined  to  devote  hers  also.  In  coming  to  this  deter- 
mination, she  acted  without  inlluence  from  the  advice  of  others.* 

"  On  the  14th  instant  we  were  highly  gratified  by  the  arrival  of 
Mr.  Cornelius,  who  had  been  hourly  expected  for  several  days. 
He  brought  with  him  a  Choctaw  youth  of  sixteen  to  be  educated 
at  the  Foreign  Mission  School  in  Connecticut.  The  arrival  of  Mr. 
^  C.  was  desirable  on  many  accounts ;  but  particularly  because  he 
was  able  to  give  precise  information  with  respect  to  the  proposed 
seat  of  the  mission  to  the  Choctaws,  and  the  best  mode  of  con- 
veying the  missionaries  thither.  The  interest  felt  in  his  welfare 
by  all  who  were  present,  and  the  important  services,  which  he  had 
rendered  to  the  cause  of  missions,  while  journeying  within  the 
last  sixteen  months  about  four  thousand  miles,  of  which  one 
thousand  miles  were  within  the  limits  of  the  Indian  nations,  will 
be  easily  felt  and  justly  appreciated  by  yourself 

"  The  subsequent  Sabbath  will  long  be  remembered  by  us,  on 
account  of  its  sacred  solemnities.  The  admistration  of  the  Lord's 
supper  had  been  appointed,  in  expectation  of  the  arrival  of  Mr. 
Cornelius.  He  preached  from  the  chorus  of  the  one  hundred 
and  seventh  Psalm  :  O  that  men  would  praise  the  Lord  for  his 
goodness,  and  for  his  wonderful  works  to  the  children  of  men.  It  was 
at  this  time  that  the  colored  man,  mentioned  above,  was  admitted 
to  the  church.     Twenty-four  persons  sat  down  together,  here  in 

*  For  an  account  of  this  very  interesting-   female,  see  the  Memoir  of  Catherine 
Prown,  by  Rev.  Dr.  Anderson,  now  one  of  the  Secretaries  of  the  Board. 


LIFE    OF   EVARTS.  123 

the  wilderness,  at  the  table  of  their  Lord.  Five  of  us,  who  had 
been  intimately  connected  in  these  atteini)ts  to  convey  the  Gospel 
to  the  Indians,  expected  to  leave  the  place  within  a  few  days,  two  on 
our  way  towards  home,  and  the  others  to  enter  upon  the  Choctaw 
mission.  We  could  not  indulge  the  slighest  anticipation  of  ever 
meeting  again  at  this  feast  of  love  ;  and  it  was  altogether  probable 
that  several  of  us  should  see  each  other's  faces  no  luore  in  this 
World,  after  the  expected  separation  shonld  have  taken  place. 
These  reflections,  and  many  others  which  will  suggest  themselves 
to  your  mind,  rendered  the  occasion  deeply  aflccting. 

During  my  stay  the  mission  and  school  were  visited  by  several 
gentlemen,  who  were  ]iassing  through  the  nation,  among  whom 
was  the  Governor  of  Tennessee.  They  all  appeared  pleased  with 
what  they  saw ;  particularly  the  Governor,  who  spent  a  night  at 
the  mission-house,  and  witnessed  the  regular  exercises  of  the 
school.  Nothing  strikes  a  stranger  more  agreeably,  than  the  ease 
and  propriety  with  which  the  children  sing  several  hymns,  without 
assistance  from  any  other  person.  Mr.  Chamberlin  tells  me  that 
he  believes  every  child  who  has  been  at  school  any  length  of  time, 
can  take  part  in  the  singing ;  and  it  is  with  pleasure  I  add,  that 
every  member  of  the  missionary  family  can  also  join  with  the 
voice,  as  well  as  with  the  understanding. 

Mr.  Cornelias  and  myself  are  preparing  to  set  out  for  home  on 
Monday.  We  take  three  Cherokee  youths  with  us  for  the  Foreign 
Mission  School.  One  is  the  son  of  Mr.  Hicks ;  and  the  good  man 
has  come  up  to  spend  the  Sabbath  with  us.* 

On  the  25th,  the  necessary  business  having  been  completed, 
Mr.  Evarts,  Mr.  Cornelius,  and  several  missionaries  who  were  to 
establish  a  new  mission  among  the  Choctaws,  left  Brainerd. 

"  The  missionaries,  who  were  about  to  leave  Brainerd,  felt 
strongly  attached  to  that  place,  as  the  scene  of  their  first  labors 
among  the  heathen,  and  the  place  where  signal  tokens  of  the  di- 
vine favor  had  been  manifested  ;  yet  they  were  perfectly  willing 
to  commence  a  new  establishment,  at  the  call  of  duty,  though  it 
was  to  be  four  hundred  miles  distant,  and  in  a  perfect  wilderness. 
Mr.  Williams  was  greatly  attached  to  the  children  of  the  school, 
as  he  had  been  the  instructor  for  a  considerable  part  of  last  year. 
At  the  time  of  parting,  the  mission  family,  including  all  the  chil- 
dren, were  assembled  in  the  open  passage.  Mr.  Hoyt  prayed,  and 
all  united  in  singing,  "  Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds,"  &c.  Many 
tears  were  shed,  and  the  elder  children  were  deeply  affected. 
As  Mr.  Kingsbury,  Mr.  Cornelius,  and  myself  were  about  to  visit 
the  Cherokee  agency  by  a  circuitous  route,  we  concluded  to  send 
the  Indian  lads  directly  thither,  under  the  care  of  an  elder  son  of 
Mr.  Hicks.      Nothing  touched  me  more  than  to  see  this   Christian 

*  Mr  Hicks  was  a  member  of  the  Moraviaa  Church,  an  intelligent,  well  informed 
man,  who  had  great  influence  in  his  nation. 


124  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

father,  converted  from  heathenism  in  a  heathen  land,  about  to 
send  his  darhng  son  to  the  heart  of  a  Christian  country,  with  a  view 
to  his  receivins:  an  enlarged  and  Christian  education.  The  paren- 
tal and  filial  attachment  is  described  by  onr  missionaries,  as  being 
uncommonly  strong  among  the  Indians;  vastly  stronger  than  any 
other  and  ail  other  attachments.  When  the  boys  were  mounted 
for  their  journey,  and  Mr.  Hicks  had  bidden  us  I'arcwell,  he  went 
a  short  distance  from  his  son  into  the  woods,  to  take  leave  of  him 
aside  from  observation  ;  and  thence  turned  off  homeward.  What 
passed  there  I  know  not.  Doubtless  the  yearnings  of  a  parent's 
bowels  were  experienced ;  doubtless  the  prayers  of  a  father  as- 
cended to  the  Preserver  of  men.  These  prayers  will  be  echoed 
from  many  a  bosom  ;  and  it  will  be  ardently  desired  that  the  lad  may 
return  in  safety  with  a  cultivated  mind  and  a  sanctified  heart,  and 
may  be  a  comfort  to  his  father  and  a  blessing  to  his  people. 

"  The  greater  part  of  the  mission  family,  not  including  the  chil- 
dren, accompanied  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Williams  to  the  river,  a  distance 
of  seven  miles.  The  road  leads  through  an  entire  wilderness,  and 
no  house  is  seen  excejjt  that  of  the  ferryman,  at  a  little  distance 
from  the  river's  bank.  The  Tennessee  is  here  a  noble  stream, 
half  a  mile  wide,  and  probably  conveys  in  its  channel  twice  or 
three  times  as  much  water,  as  is  conveyed  in  the  channel  of  the 
Connecticut  against  Middletown.  When  we  look  at  such  a  river 
on  the  map,  we  conceive  of  its  banks  as  cultivated  ;  especially  if 
it  runs  through  a  country  so  long  settled,  and  so  populous  as  Ten- 
nessee. But  I  am  told,  that  the  greater  part  of  this  river,  even 
without  the  Indian  limits,  is  still  shaded  by  native  forests  ;  and 
within  these  limits  the  eye  of  the  boatman  can  seldom  meet  with 
any  indication  that  the  coimtry  is  inhabited.  The  mighty  flood 
rolls  along  in  solitary  grandeur,  as  it  did  a  thousand  years  ago.  At 
the  place  where  the  missionary  boat  was  fastened,  the  banks  pre- 
sented nothing  but  a  wilderness.  The  scene  was  new  and  im- 
posing. As  we  looked  up  the  river  the  eye  caught  a  perpendicu- 
lar cliir  of  lime-stone  eighty  feet  high,  which  formed  the  right 
bank ;  a  beautiful  island  divided  the  channel  into  nearly  equal 
parts  ;  and  both  banks  were  covered  with  luxuriant  vegetation 
from  the  oak  to  the  cane,  the  flowering  shrub,  and  the  tender  grass. 
The  trees  had  now  assumed  the  appearance  of  summer. 

"  When  the  boat  was  ready  to  depart,  and  nfter  we  had  enjoyed 
an  agreeable  interview,  a  parting  hymn  by  Dr.  Doddridge  was  sung 
to  Old  Hundred,  and  a  prayer  was  offered  by  Mr.  Cornelius.  The 
fact  that  this  mission  was  prepared  and  sent  forth  in  the  wilder- 
ness, gave  the  whole  transaction  an  indescribable  interest.  None 
were  more  affected  than  four  native  women,  Avho  could  not  speak 
English,  though  they  could  understand  something  of  it,  and  who 
had  come  four  or  five  miles  to  take  leave  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  AVilhams. 
One  of  them  is  so  old,  that  she  has  great  grand  children  at  the 
school.  She  is  remarkable  for  kindness  of  disposition,  and  atten- 
tion to  the  missionaries. 

"  The  religious  solemnities  being  over,  we  stepped  on  shore  ;  the 
boatmen  untied  the  ropes,  pushed  into  the  current,  and  the  boat 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  1-25 

moved  gently  out  of  our  sight.  Our  friends  of  the  mission  family 
returned  to  Brainerd  ;  we  crossed  the  ferry,  and  pursued  our  course 
towards  Washington,  Tennessee,  through  the  woods. 

"  On  Wednesday,  at  noon,  we  reached  the  Cherokee  agency. 
The  venerable  Col.  Meigs,  who  was  taken  prisoner  at  Quebec 
when  Montgomery  fell,  has  for  many  years  been  the  agent  of 
government  in  this  nation.  He  received  us  with  the  greatest  kind- 
ness, and  expressed  a  deep  interest  in  oiir  mission  and  school.  At 
present  there  is  a  meeting  of  the  Indians  here,  at  which  the  whole 
population  has  been  invited  to  attend.  The  object  of  the  meeting 
is  to  explain  the  treaty  of  July  last,  and  to  enrol  those  who  intend 
removing  across  the  Mississippi,  and  those  who  wish  to  take  reser- 
vations of  a  mile  square,  according  to  the  treaty.  It  is  a  week 
since  the  talk  opened.  The  concourse  was  not  so  numerous  as  was 
expected.  There  was,  however,  a  very  diversified  assemblage, 
composed  of  persons  of  all  ages,  of  both  sexes,  and  of  all  com- 
plexions, from  the  full-blooded  Cherokees  to  the  whites.  Govern- 
or M'Minn  was  the  commissioner  of  the  government  to  transact 
business  with  the  Indians.  He  showed  us  many  civilities,  and  in- 
vited Mr.  Cornelius  to  preach  the  next  day. 

"  On  Thursday  morning  the  Governor  held  his  concluding  talk 
with  the  natives  and  dismissed  the  council.  Mr.  Cornelius  then 
preached  to  a  mixed  audience,  under  the  bower  which  had  been 
formed  for  the  accommodation  of  the  people  during  the  long  ses- 
sion. According  to  the  previous  arrangement,  I  addressed  the 
Indians  who  were  about  removing  to  the  Arkansas,  on  the  subject 
of  establishing  a  mission  and  school  among  them.  The  public 
interpreter  explained  my  meaning,  as  I  proceeded.  The  principal 
chief  had  visited  the  school  at  Brainerd  while  I  was  there,  and  ap- 
peared much  pleased  with  it.  Other  leading  Indians  had  done 
the  same  ;  and  many  who  are  about  crossing  the  Mississippi  had 
expressed  a  strong  wish  that  a  school  should  accompany  them. 
Still  it  was  thought  desirable  that  the  subject  should  t)e  again 
brought  forward.  AVe  happened  very  opportunely  to  be  in  the  na- 
tion at  the  holding  of  this  council.  The  particulars  of  the  inter- 
view will  be  related,  God  wiUing,  when  I  am  more  at  leisure.  At 
present  I  can  only  say  that  there  are  weighty  reasons  for  establish- 
ing a  mission,  as  soon  as  possible,  on  the  river  Arkansas. 

31.  Knoxville,  Tenn.  A  Sabbath  school  is  regularly  taught 
here  for  blacks  and  whites.  Mr.  S.  tells  me  that  the  means  of 
religious  instruction  here  have  been  underrated.  Religious  knowl- 
edge is  more  diffused  than  we  have  been  led  to  suppose.  There 
are  very  few  Presbyterian  ministers,  and  there  is  a  very  great  de- 
ficiency of  regular  preaching  of  any  sort ;  but  Methodists  and 
Baptists  penetrate  into  all  the  recesses  of  the  mountains  and  con- 
vey many  of  the  truths  of  the  gospel  to  the  minds  of  the   people. 


]26  I^IFE   OF  EVARTS. 

It  is  not  right  to  compare  this  population  with  the  heathen  of 
Asia,  or  with  the  heathen  tribes  of  this  country. 

June  4.  Wliile  at  Brainerd  I  was  very  busy,  and  regret  much 
that  I  had  not  time  to  write  down  at  length  all  that  we  did,  with 
our  reasons  in  each  case.  As  it  is,  I  depend  much  upon  memory 
to  explain  to  the  Committee  the  state  of  things  at  the  mission.  I 
have  with  me  the  heads  of  our  decisions,  extracted  from  the  sec- 
retary's notes. 

I  am  much  more  convinced  than  before  I  came  this  journey, 
that  a  visit  to  the  mission  was  very  important,  so  far  as  I  am.  to 
have  any  influence  hereafter  in  directing  Indian  missions  ;  and  I 
trust  it  will  not  be  useless,  even  if  I  should  never  again  take  part 
in  the  measures  of  our  Board.  Our  contemplated  visit  to  the 
city  of  Washington  we  deem  of  very  considerable  importance  to 
the  cause. 

June  5.  This  county  is  very  new  ;  the  climate  is  healthy  ; 
and  I  should  think  very  well  of  it  as  the  place  of  my  future  resi- 
dence, in  case  I  leave  Boston,*  were  it  not  for  the  existence  of 
>  slavery,  which  is  a  much  greater  evil  than  I  ever  conceived  it  to 
be  before  my  visit  to  the  south.  However,  it  is  a  uiuch  less  evil 
here  than  in  Georgia  and  the  Carolinas. 

Having  parted  with  Mr.  Cornelius,  Mr.  Evarts  pursued  his 
journey  alone  on  horseback,  through  Kentucky  to  Cincinnati,  and 
thence  through  Chillicothe,  Zanesville,  Wheeling,  and  Winchester, 
to  Washington,  and  home  seizing  every  opportunity,  by  public 
addresses  and  by  intercourse  with  ministers  of  the  gospel  and  oth- 
ers, to  awaken  a  missionary  spirit  and  secure  permanent  aid  to 
the  objects  of  the  Board. 

July  5.  Sabbath,  Uniontown,  Pa.  In  the  morning  was  in- 
formed that  there  would  be  no  preaching  in  town  today.  At- 
tended Methodist  prayer  meeting,  (or  perhaps  class  n)eeting,) 
There  was  no  clergyman  ;  two  prayers  were  made,  hymns  sung, 
and  a  sort  of  personal  examination  had.  Ten  whites  were  pres- 
ent, and  nine  blacks  ;  one  of  the   prayers   was  made   by  a  black 

*  Mr.  Evans  at  this  time,  to  use  his  own  language,  felt  under  obligations  to  continue 
in  his  station  at  Boston  as  long  as  he  could  discharge  its  duties  without  immediate  dan- 
ger to  his  life  ;  but  thought  it  probable  that  he  should  be  compelled  to  seek  a  support 
for  his  family  elsewhere  and  in  some  different  employment. 


LIFE    OF  EVARTS.  127 

man.  I  found  no  fault  with  any  doctrine  implied  In  their  prayers 
or  exhortations. 

At  1 1  o'clock  was  informed  that  Mr.  W.,  the  Presbyterian 
minister,  had  unexpectedly  returned,  and  that  divine  service  would 
be  held  as  usual  at  the  court-house.  Between  the  services  I  in- 
troduced myself  to  Mr.  W.,  and  proposed  to  make  a  statement 
respecting  the  plans  and  objects  of  the  Board,  the  Cherokee  mis- 
sion, Sic,  in  the  evening.  After  some  hesitation  he  consented, 
and  notice  was  given  accordingly.  In  the  evening  the  court- 
house was  crowded.  After  my  statement,  Mr.  W.  read  some  re- 
ligious intelligence,  and  enforced  the  whole  by  very  appropiiate 
illustrations.  The  communications  of  the  evening  furnished  him 
an  excellent  occasion  to  press  personal  religion  upon  his  hearers. 
Uniontown  is  a  respectable  village,  forty  years  old  ;  and  yet  has 
never  had  regular  preaching  till  within  a  little  more  than  a  year 
past.  Mr.  W.  used  this  fact  with  great  effect,  by  remarking  that 
it  might  be  a  part  of  the  plan  of  Providence,  while  Otaheitans, 
Cherokees,  and  Hottentots,  were  brought  into  the  kingdom  of  God, 
to  bring  in  some  of  the  people  of  Uniontown  too.  The  Gospel 
is  now  preached  here  after  such  an  unaccountable  delay  ;  who 
knows  but  it  may  be  sent  hither  in  mercy  as  well  as  to  the 
heathen  ? 

In  the  beginning  of  the  next  year  (1819)  the  critical  state  of 
the  Cherokees  and  other  Indian  tribes  gave  Mr.  Evarts,  for  a  time, 
great  anxiety.  The  first  mission  of  the  Board  among  the  Cher- 
okees, it  has  already  been  remarked,  was  established  at  Chicka- 
maugah,  afterwards  Brainerd.  In  the  autumn  of  1816,  Rev.  Cy- 
rus Kingsbury,  by  direction  of  the  Committee,  visited  the  nation 
for  the  purpose  of  selecting  a  station  and  making  other  necessary 
arrangements.  On  his  way  thither  he  passed  through  Washing- 
ton, where  he  made  known  to  the  President  the  intentions  of  the 
Board,  and  received  from  him  and  from  Mr.  Crawford,  then  Sec- 
retary of  War,  every  encouragea)ent  that  could  reasonably  be 
expected.  He  was  assured  officially  that  houses  would  be  erected 
at  the  public  expense  for  the  accommodation  of  a  school  and  a 
teacher,  that  agricultural  implements  would  be  furnished,  and  that, 
as  circumstances  might  from  time  to  time  justify  and  require,  other 
houses  and  various  means  for  prosecuting  the  mission  would  be  pro- 


128  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

vided  in  the  same  way.*  Assurances  of  similar  aid  from  the  Gov- 
ernment in  the  establishment  of  missions  among  the  Choctaws, 
Chickasaws,  and  Creeks,  were  officially  given  in  1817,  and  a  par- 
ticular desire  manifested  that  the  instruction  of  these  four  tribes 
should  go  on  at  the  same  time.f  These  assurances  were  renewed 
the  next  year,  and  preparations  were  made  by  the  Board  to  do  all 
in  their  power  to  render  effective,  as  speedily  and  extensively 
as  possible  and  among  all  the  tribes  named,  the  benevolent  dispo- 
sitions of  the  government. 

The  gratifying  state  in  which  ]\Ir.  Evarts  found  the  Cherokee 
Mission,  in  the  spring  of  1818,  will  be  recollected.  In  a  few 
short  months  only  after  that  visit,  the  prospect  which  then  appeared 
so  bright  began  to  be  clouded,  and  a  series  of  difficulties  com 
menced,  against  which  he  struggled,  with  what  devotion  and 
ability  will  appear  hereafter,  but  in  vain.  The  danger  arose  from 
the  attempted  execution,  by  the  government  of  the  United  States, 
of  a  plan  for  removing  the  Indians  from  their  ancient  homes  to 
the  country  west  of  the  Mississippi.  On  receiving  the  first  inti- 
mation that  the  change  might  probably  soon  be  effected  in  regard 
to  the  Cherokees,  Mr.  Evarts  wrote  to  Dr.  Worcester  as  follows  : 

TO    REV.    DR.    WORCESTER. 

Boston,  February  3,  1819. 

I  now  write  to  send  a  letter  from  father  Hoyt,J  for  your  peru- 
sal, and  with  particular  reference  to  the  suggestion  at  the  end,  viz : 
that  some  member  of  the  Committee  should  visit  Washington. 
This  lies  with  great  weight  upon  my  mind.  Think  of  it — pray 
over  it — and  then,  if  you  are  not  decided  against  it,  call  a  meet- 
ing of  the  Prudential  Committee  very  soon. 

The  present  is  an  eventful  crisis  with  the  Cherokees  ;  and  with 
our  establishment  of  course,  and  with  all  the  Indian  tribes. 

If  the  Cherokees  have  given  their  delegates,  as  father  Hoyt 
says,  power  to  exchange  the  whole  country,  the  country  will  cer- 
tainly he  exchanged  this  winter,  and  the  best  terms  must  be  made 
that  can  be  made.     The  Indian  affairs  are  also  before  Congress  in 

*  The  Annual  Report  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.  f  Eighth  Annual  Report. 

X  Rev.  Ard  Hoyt,  missionary  of  the  Board. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  J29 

some  shape  or  other.  The  important  crisis  will  be,  the  last  fort- 
night of  the  session  and  a  few  days  afterwards  ;  say  three  weeks 
from  the  20th  instant,  at  Washington. 

Will  not  Mr.  Reed*  go  ?  If  so,  ail  will  rejoice.  If  not,  will 
not  you  go  ?  The  health  of  the  two  senior  members  of  the  Com- 
mittee puts  them  out  of  the  question.  If,  after  consultation,  it 
appears  important  that  one  should  go,  and  if  neither  you  nor  Mr. 
Reed  can  go,  and  if  my  health  should  be  as  it  is,  and  the  weather 
not  too  bad,  I  would  endeavor  to  go.  But  I  should,  for  obvious 
reasons,  prefer  to  have  Mr.  Reed  go,  and  yourself  next  to  him. 

When  you  consider  the  present  state  of  the  Indians,  I  think 
you  will  regard  the  subject  as  deserving  a  meeting  of  the  Pruden- 
tial Committee  by  all  means. 

A  meeting  of  the  Prudential  Committee  was  immediately  held, 
and  the  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Board  was  appointed  to 
proceed  to  Washington,  to  take  such  measures  as  might  be  deem- 
ed necessary  for  the  benefit  of  the  mission.  The  subject  still  en- 
grossed the  feelings  of  Mr.  Evarts,  and  the  following  letter  was 
addressed  to  Dr.  Worcester  at  Washington  : 

Boston,  Feb.  16, 1819. 
I  saw  in  Saturday's  Centinel  a  statement,  that  from  November 
1st,  to  December  11th,  about  forty  days,  nearly  12,000  souls 
crossed  the  Arkansas  river,  from  the  western  country,  with  a  view 
to  settle  on  the  south  side  of  it.  Though  the  account  is  probably 
exaggerated,  yet,  if  there  is  a  great  emigration  of  whites  to  the 
parts  near  the  contemplated  residence  of  the  Cherokees,  they  will 
be  immediately  pressed  harder  than  they  are  now.  And  where  is 
the  security  that  they  will  not  be  so  pressed  ?  Suppose  the  pre- 
sent government  to  be  inclined  vigorously  to  protect  them  there, 
and  to  prevent  intrusion  ;  is  there  any  probability  that  future  ad- 
ministrations will  be  of  the  same  mind  ?  Why  not  protect  them 
where  they  are  ?  It  can  be  done  easier  than  on  the  river  Arkan- 
sas. It  is  an  important  inquiry,  how  the  tide  of  emigration  now 
sets,  and  how  it  will  be  likely  to  set  in  reference  to  the  Arkansas 

*  Hon.  William  Reed  o(  Marblehead,  a  member  of  the  Committee,  and  formerly  a 
member  of  Congress  from  Massachusetts. 

17 


130  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

country.  For  myself,  1  very  much  suspect,  that  the  Cherokees, 
after  removing  to  their  trans-Mississippi  country,  will  find  them- 
selves hemmed  in  by  a  growing  population  ;  that  they  will  find 
great  roads  made  through  their  country,  to  be  travelled  by  whites  ; 
and  that  they  will  live  exposed  to  all  the  vices  and  all  the  appre- 
hensions which  now  beset  them,  and  will  lose  all  the  advantages 
which  they  have  hitherto  gained. 

A  letter  from  father  Gambold,  which  came  to  hand  this  day, 
mentions  that  Mr.  Hicks  and  others,  had  gone  to  Washington,  "  to 
try  to  obtain  permission  to  remain  on  their  own  landJ"  He  adds, 
"  May  the  Lord  be  with  them  and  influence  our  government  to  do 
them  justice  1"  If  government  are  now  disposed  to  do  them  jus- 
tice, they  can  do  it  more  easily  by  quieting  them  in  their  present 
possessions,  than  in  any  other  way.  This  deserves  very  serious 
consideration  by  all  concerned. 

I  am  sorry  to  see  in  this  morning's  Centlnel  (16th)  a  notice  of 
your  mission,  furnished  by  some  meddling  correspondent.  1  sup- 
pose you  reach  Washington  this  morning.  May  the  Divine  bles- 
sing attend  your  exertions. 

The  representations  of  the  Cherokee  delegation  and  the  argu- 
ments urged  by  Dr.  Worcester  and  other  friends,  were  not  without 
effect.  The  Hon.  John  C.  Calhoun  was  then  Secretary  of  War, 
and  the  negotiation,  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  was  conduct- 
ed by  him.  It  terminated  in  a  treaty  highly  gratifying  to  the 
Cherokees.  The  preamble  distinctly  recognized  the  wish  of  a 
majority  of  the  Cherokees  to  remain  in  the  land  of  their  fathers, 
and  their  favorable  inclination  towards  civilization  and  improve- 
ment. The  stipulations  of  the  treaty  were  intended  to  gratify  this 
wish,  and  to  encourage  and  meet  this  inclination.  In  considera- 
tion of  the  assignment  of  lands  in  the  Arkansas  country  to  pait  of 
the  nation  who  had  emigrated,  a  large  cession  of  territoryUo  the 
United  States  was  agreed  on,  and  the  remainder  secured  to  the 
original  proprietors  forever.  And  of  the  ceded  lands  an  appro- 
priation was  made  of  about  100,000  acres,  for  a  perpetual  school 
fund,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Cherokees  remaining  in  the  land  of 
their  fathers.  The  ratification  of  this  treaty  was  regarded  by  Mr. 
Evarts  and  those  who  acted  with  him  as  a  most  auspicious  event. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  13j 

"  It  is  auspicious,"  says  the  Report  of  the  Committee  of  the 
Board,  "  as  it  shows,  on  the  part  of  the  government,  not  only  a 
favorable  disposition  towards  the  Indians,  but  also  a  conviction 
that  they  can  be  and  must  be  civilized  ;  and  a  settled  and  gen- 
erous purpose  to  patronize  and  aid  the  benevolent  work.  It  is 
auspicious,  as  it  provides  funds  which  eventually  will  not  be  small, 
for  promoting  the  design.  And  it  is  auspicious  in  the  influence 
which  it  has,  and  which  it  will  have,  upon  the  Cherokees  and 
other  Indian  nations,  and  upon  the  American  community.  It 
marks,  indeed,  a  new  and  propitious  era." 

"  The  success  of  this  delegation,"  say  the  missionaries  in  their 
journal,  "  has  raised  the  hopes  of  the  nation."  And  speaking  of 
one  of  the  delegation,  an  intelligent  and  devoted  convert,*  they 
add  :  "  While  an  entire  exchange  of  country  was  thought  of  as  a 
measure  which  they  might  be  pressed  to  adopt,  his  spirit  was  often 
borne  down  with  discouragement ;  but  since  they  have  succeeded 
in  having  part  of  their  country  guaranteed  to  them  anew,  and  so 
many  Christian  people  engaged  for  their  instruction,  that  hope 
which  was  almost  expiring,  is  raised  to  confident  expectation. 
His  heart  is  overflowing  with  joy,  gratitude,  and  praise  to  God, 
whom  he  is  ever  ready  to  acknowledge  as  the  Giver  of  every  good 
and  perfect  gift" 

Dr.  Worcester's  parting  address  to  the  delegates  at  Washington, 
was  read  in  open  council,  and  was  received  with  evident  and 
great  satisfaction.  The  desire  and  the  spirit  of  improvement 
throughout  the  nation,  as  a  mass,  received  a  remarkable  impulse. 

This  view  of  the  policy  of  government  and  these  hopes  received 
additional  confirmation  a  few  weeks  after  the  conclusion  of  the 
Treaty.  On  the  27th  of  May  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
(Mr.  Monroe)  being  on  a  tour  through  the  southern  states,  visited 
Brainerd,  and  gave  both  to  the  missionaries  and  the  Cherokees 
the  most  gratifying  proofs  of  his  confidence  and  good  will.  It  was 
evident  that  he  was  ready  to  act  heartily  for  the  benefit  of  the 
nation,  in  the  spirit  of  the  treaty.  He  expressed  great  satisfaction 
with  the  plan  and  success  of  the  mission,  and  gave  orders  for  the 
erection  of  larger  and  more  commodious  buildings  for  its  accom- 

*  Charles  R.  Hicks. 


132  LIFE   OF   EVARTS. 

modation,  with  directions  to  the  governmental  agent  to  pay  the 
expense.  And  this  was  not  the  policy  of  the  Executive  alone. 
It  was  also  that  of  the  National  Legislature  ;  and  an  appropriation 
of  ^10,000  a  year  was  soon  after  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the 
President  for  its  promotion. 

With  such  evidences  that  the  policy  of  government  was  settled^ 
and  that  efforts  to  instruct  and  civilize  the  Indians  would  receive 
from  the  Executive  and  from  Congress,  not  only  favorable  consid- 
eration, but  also  liberal  aid,  the  plans  of  the  Board  for  the  benefit  of 
the  Cherokees,  Choctaws,  and  Chickasaws  were  enlarged,  and  the 
missions  prosecuted  with  new  enterprize  and  spirit.  These  facts 
in  the  early  history  of  the  missions  being  remembered,  the  feelings 
of  Mr.  Evarts,  when,  ten  years  after,  the  action  of  government  was 
suddenly  changed,  the  missionary  establishments — the  schools  and 
churches  that  had  grown  up,  threatened  with  utter  ruin,  and  the 
tribes  themselves  with  destruction,  will  be  better  understood. 

Another  source  of  anxiety  to  Mr.  Evarts  at  this  period  was  the 
state  of  the  treasury  of  the  Board.  As  early  as  December,  1818, 
in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Worcester,  he  speaks  of  discouragements  in  this 
respect,  and  adds  :  "  The  indications  by  which  I  judge  that  the 
missionary  spirit  is  declining  are  these  :  There  appear  to  be  fewer 
new  associations  formed  than  heretofore — the  remittances  from  old 
associations  are  smaller.  Dr.  T.*  thinks  without  a  single  excep- 
tion— and  the  aggregate  of  donations  is  less.  On  my  return  from 
the  south  the  conversation  of  Christians  through  the  country  was 
full  of  exultation  ;  one  would  as  soon  have  thought  of  the  National 
Bank  becoming  insolvent,  as  of  a  deficiency  in  our  receipts  ; — hut 
the  whole  seems  to  have  evaporated." 

A  few  months  later  he  says  to  another  correspondent :  *'  The 
business  of  our  Board  is  becoming  more  and  more  arduous,  diffi- 
cult, and  responsible.  Unless  God  be  with  us,  we  shall  not  only 
do  nothing  effectual ;  but  we  shall  come  to  nothing.  Let  us  be 
thankful  for  what  we  have  received,  and  plead  that  we  may  feel 
our  dependence  more  and  more." 

"  You  can  hardly  be  aware,"  he  writes  to  a  missionary  in 
March,  1820,  "of  the  serious  embarrassments   with   which  our 

*  Mr.  E.'s  assistant. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  I33 

Treasury  is  threatened.  There  is  an  amazing  pressure  for  money 
throughout  the  country  ;  many  Christians  are  weak  and  faint  in 
their  missionary  feelings  and  exertions ;  other  institutions  of  a  like 
kind  with  ours  are  springing  up.  I  mention  these  things  not  to 
discourage  you,  but  that  you  and  we  may  feel  more  and  more  our 
dependence  on  God  for  the  means  of  doing  any  thing ;  and  that 
you  may  pray  earnestly  for  the  excitement  of  a  missionary  spirit. 
Be  assured  that  we  have  very  solemn  questions  of  duty  in  our 
Prudential  Committee  in  reference  to  the  extent  of  our  missionary 
operations.  Economy  is  peculiarly  necessary  in  every  depart- 
ment." 

In  the  midst  of  these  pecuniary  difficulties,  the  health  of  Dr. 
Worcester  became  so  poor  that  resort  to  a  milder  climate  was 
deemed  necessary.  Accordingly  in  January,  1821,  he  took  pas- 
sage at  Boston  for  New  Orleans,  in  the  hope  that  he  should  be 
able  to  visit  the  Indian  missions.  He  arrived  at  New  Orleans 
early  in  February.  After  spending  some  weeks  in  that  city,  he 
ascended  the  river  to  Natchez,  visited  some  of  the  mission  stations, 
in  still  declining  health,  and  died  at  Brainerd,  in  the  Cherokee 
nation,  on  the  7th  of  June.  To  Mr.  Evarts  this  was  a  severe 
bereavement.  For  more  than  ten  years,  they  had  labored  together 
in  the  cause  of  missions,  and  for  a  yet  longer  time  had  been  in 
habits  of  the  most  unreserved  and  cordial  intercourse,  in  relation  to 
subjects  of  the  highest  moment  to  the  well-being  of  the  churches 
and  of  man.  There  was  cherished  between  them  the  most  affec- 
tionate regard  and  the  highest  mutual  esteem.  Especially  after 
they  became  associated  in  the  service  of  missions  to  the  heathen, 
the  hours  which  they  spent  together  were  frequent,  and  rendered 
precious  by  perfect  sympathy  in  their  labors,  trials,  and  successes. 

When  Dr.  Worcester  left  Boston,  the  duties  of  clerk  of  the 
Prudential  Committee  and  of  Corresponding  Secretary  were  as- 
signed to  Mr.  Evarts,  with  instructions  to  procure  such  assistance 
as  might  be  necessary  ;  and  this  accumulation  of  responsibility, 
commenced  at  a  time  of  peculiar  pressure  and  anxiety,  was  con- 
tinued till  the  meeting  of  the  Board  in  September,  1822. 

A  few  extracts  follow  from  the  correspondence  of  Mr.  Evarts 
during  this  period  : 


< 


134  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

TO    MR.    WILLIAM    GOODELL.* 

January  19, 1S21. 

As  you  are  about  to  commence  an  agency  in  the  service  of  the 
American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  with  the 
benevolent  wish  of  inviting  the  co-operation  of  all  classes  of  per- 
sons, in  this  great  Christian  community,  to  the  noble  work  of  evan- 
gelizing the  heathen,  permit  me  to  offer  a  few  suggestions. 

The  application  to  individuals,  or  the  public,  in  behalf  of  any 
charity,  is,  in  some  respects,  painful  ;  and  the  mind  of  an  agent, 
employed  in  such  a  business,  needs  to  be  sustained  by  powerful 
considerations. 

Let  it  therefore  be  habitually  fixed  in  your  mind,  that  the  work 
of  missions,  in  all  its  parts,  is  peculiarly  pleasing  to  God  ;  that  it 
is  the  very  work  in  which  the  Saviour  himself  spent  the  days  of 
his  ministry  ;  in  which  the  Apostles  labored  and  died  ;  and  which 
will  at  last  be  effectual  to  the  renovation  of  the  world. 

Let  it  also  be  fixed  firmly  in  your  mind,  that  all  successful  at* 
tempts  to  obtain  donations  for  the  cause  of  missions  do,  in  fact, 
promote  the  happiness  of  the  donors  ;  and  that  they  thus  promote 
it  very  much  in  proportion  to  the  sacrifices  made  for  the  cause. 
No  sacrifice  is  made,  none  can  be  made,  from  sincere  desire  to  glorify 
God  by  honoring  the  institutions  of  the  Saviour,  without  adding 
to  the  temporal  happiness  of  the  person  who  makes  the  sacrifice. 
This  is  an  invariable  law  of  the  divine  administration.  It  is  de- 
clared, in  many  different  forms,  by  our  Saviour  himself,  and  is 
in  perfect  accordance  with  matter  of  fact,  as  it  falls  under  our 
daily  observation.  The  man  who  gives  fifty  dollars  is  certain,  if  he 
acts  from  noble,  generous,  and  truly  benevolent  motives,  to  derive 
much  greater  enjoyment  from  it,  than  if,  with  the  same  ability,  he 
had  given  five  dollars,  or  one  dollar.  The  laboring  man,  or  hired 
girl,  who  makes  an  effort  to  save  money,  and  gives  five  or  ten  dol- 
lars for  the  cause  of  Christ,  as  many  have  done,  in  various  parts 
of  the  Christian  world,  no  doubt  receives  a  most  abundant  recom- 
pense in  this  life. 

It  follows  that  an  agent,  who  solicits  benefactions   to  the  mis- 

*  Rev.  William  Goodell,  now  missionary  at  Constantinople. 


'  LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  I35 

sionary  cause,  is  in  reality  a  public  benefactor,  in  many  different 
respects ;  but  particularly  to  those  whom  he  may  induce  to  make 
liberal  offerings  to  the  Lord. 

An  agent  should  always /eeZ,  and  let  it  be  seen  that  he  feels, 
that  the  cause  is  infinitely  worthy  of  any  sacrifice  that  can  be 
made  to  it.  And  it  should  be  always  understood,  that  the  cause 
is  not  only  worthy  of  sacrifices,  but  demands  them,  and  must  have 
them.  Do  Christians,  does  any  generous  minded  man,  wish  to 
have  it  otherwise  ?  Is  it  desired  that  no  sacrifices  should  be  made 
for  the  greatest  object,  which  ever  invited  the  attention  of  men  or 
angels — an  object,  to  accomplish  which  the  Son  of  God  came 
down  from  heaven  ?  Does  any  person,  who  claims  the  name  of  a 
man,  wish  that  a  few  empty  desires,  and  a  few  trifling  donations, 
should  be  sufficient  to  provide  for  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  world. 
Suppose  it  should  be  made  apparent,  that  every  man  in  Christen- 
dom was  bound  to  labor,  in  his  proper  employment,  ten  days  in 
each  year,  for  the  sole  object  of  sending  the  Gospel  to  foreign 
nations,  and  the  most  distant  parts  of  the  world,  would  it  be  a 
subject  of  regret?  Should  not  every  person,  male  and  female,  of 
every  age,  rejoice  in  the  privilege  of  helping  to  bring  forward  the 
days  of  emancipation  from  the  bondage  of  Satan  ? 

As  to  proving  the  great  duty  of  sending  the  Gospel  to  all 
nations,  the  Scriptures  are  so  full  and  explicit,  that  there  is  no 
need  of  calling  your  attention  to  the  subject  particularly.  But  it 
is  manifest,  on  the  plainest  principles  of  benevolence,  that,  if  the 
Gospel  is  a  blessing,  it  ought  to  be  communicated  as  extensively 
as  possible.  No  man,  but  an  open  infidel,  will  deny  the  Gos- 
pel to  be  a  blessing  ;  but  if  the  Gospel  is  true,  it  is  every  thing, 
and  no  sacrifices  to  extend  its  influence  can  be  too  great. 

What  the  Bible  enjoins,  in  regard  to  the  promulgation  of  the 
Gospel,  facts  abundantly  support  and  confirm.  No  question  in 
morals,  or  any  business  of  life,  can  be  more  perfectly  settled  by 
facts,  than  it  is  already  settled,  that  Christian  missions  are  now 
effecting  a  most  desirable  and  salutary  change  in  many  parts  of 
the  world.  Witness  South  Africa,  Sierra  Leone,  the  Society 
Islands,  Ceylon,  the  Coromandel  Coast,  New  Holland,  New 
Zealand,  the  West  Indies,  Greenland,  India  near  the  Ganges,  and 
the  country  of  the  Cherokees  and  Choctaws. 


136  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

But  objections  will  be  started :  Some  one  will  say,  how  do  I 
know  that  the  money  which  I  give  will  be  faithfully  applied  ?  In 
answer  to  this  question  there  are  various  weighty  considerations, 
which  I  have  not  time  to  state.  I  simply  observe  that  every 
donor  may  have  all  the  evidence  that  his  money  is  faithfully  ap- 
plied, which  it  is  possible  to  have  that  any  human  agency  is 
faithfully  executed  ;  and  much  greater  evidence  than  is  usually 
obtained,  that  any  trust  is  faithfully  performed.  A  person  gives 
a  sum,  great  or  small,  for  the  aid  of  this  cause.  The  sum  is  ac- 
knowledged by  a  formal  receipt  from  the  agent,  or  proper  officer. 
It  is  also  acknowledged  in  the  monthly  official  list  of  donations  ; 
which  list  is,  in  effect,  five  thousand  receipts  scattered  all  over  the 
country,  and  read  by  thirty  thousand  people  perhaps ;  and  among 
them  the  donor  and  his  friends.  The  amount  of  the  donations  in 
a  month  is  stated  ;  and  the  sum  of  the  twelve  monthly  lists,  is  ex- 
hibited to  the  Auditor,  as  the  amount  of  donations  received 
during  the  year.  Every  donation  is  entered  at  large  on  the 
books  of  the  treasury,  immediately  on  its  reception.  The  Auditor 
examines  these  entries,  and  ascertains,  that  the  sums  thus  placed 
to  the  credit  of  the  Board,  amount  to  the  same  as  the  sums  pub- 
lished. Thus  much  for  the  proof,  that  all  donations  are  entered 
to  the  credit  of  the  Board. 

As  to  payments  from  the  Treasury,  they  are  all  made  by  orders 
of  the  Prudential  Committee,  or  of  the  Board.  The  Committee 
authorize  the  expenditures  and  see  the  vouchers.  All  the  ac- 
counts, comprising  every  cent  of  the  expenditures  and  descending 
to  ihe  minute  particulars,  are  read  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the 
Board,  and  approved  by  that  body.  The  Auditor  examines  all 
the  accounts,  ascertains  their  correctness,  and  sees  that  all  the 
vouchers  are  correct  and  sufficient.  It  may  not  be  improper  here 
to  state,  that  during  the  ten  years  of  the  operations  of  the  Board, 
the  Auditor  has  never  discovered  an  error  of  a  single  cent  in  the 
Treasurer's  accounts.  The  office  of  Auditor  has  been  discharged 
by  three  gentlemen  in  succession,  who  are  thoroughly  versed  in 
mercantile  transactions,  and  who  are  not  members  of  the  Board, 
or  of  the  Committee. 

When  money  is  remitted  to  the  several  stations,  the  Christian 
public  have  all  the  security,  which  can  rationally  be  expected, 


LIFE   OF   EVARTS.  iq'J 

that  it  will  be  faithfully  applied.  The  missionaries  have  given  all 
the  proof  which  can  be  required,  that  they  have  the  best  interests 
of  the  cause  at  heart.  They  wish  to  make  their  several  stations 
as  flourishing  as  possible  ;  and,  for  this  purpose,  they  are  strongly 
prompted  to  make  the  money  go  as  far  as  possible — in  other  words, 
to  practise  the  best  economy. 

It  is  objected  that  some  of  our  missions  are  too  far  off.  But 
we  are  taught  in  the  parable  of  the  good  Samaritan,  that  every 
man  is  our  neighbor  to  whom  we  can  possibly  do  good.  And  it 
is  demonstrably  clear,  that  we  can  do  good  to  the  heathen  in  Asia, 
in  greater  numbers,  and  at  smaller  expense,  than  to  the  heathen 
any  where  else.  As  to  all  the  purposes  of  charity,  the  children  in 
Ceylon  and  Bombay,  and  the  heathen  generally  in  those  regions, 
are  at  our  doors. 

It  is  objected  that  foreign  missions  draw  money  from  our  coun- 
try— particularly,  that  they  take  away  our  specie.  The  proper 
answer  to  this  is,  that  the  great  and  proper  use  of  specie  is  to  send 
it  wherever  it  is  wanted,  with  a  view  to  obtain  any  good  object. 
It  is  right  to  send  it  for  tea  and  silk  ;  but  can  these  compare  with 
the  value  of  the  Gospel  ?  Again  :  The  first  year  after  the  peace, 
it  was  computed  that  from  three  million  to  six  million  Spanish 
dollars  were  sent  from  Massachusetts — that  is,  the  sea-ports  in  that 
state, — beyond  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  for  the  various  kinds  of 
merchandize  in  those  parts  of  the  world.  The  most  that  the 
Board  ever  sent,  in  specie,  in  one  year,  was  fourteen  thousand 
dollars  :  that  is,  for  every  dollar  which  the  Board  sent  in  any  one 
year,  the  merchants  sent  probably  not  less  than  three  hundred 
dollars,  in  the  year  after  the  peace.  The  last  remittance  of 
specie  which  we  made,  was  one  of  four  thousand  five  hundred  dol- 
lars ;  and  the  same  vessel  took  about  two  hundred  thousand 
dollars  for  merchants  :  that  is,  for  one  dollar,  which  the  Board  re- 
mitted, the  same  vessel  took  more  than  forty  dollars  for  silks,  &;c. 
and  it  has  not  been  an  uncommon  thing  for  a  single  ship  to  carry 
to  India  more  money  in  specie,  than  the  Board  have  expended,  in 
all  their  operations,  in  ten  years ;  and  more  than  three  times  as 
much  as  the  Board  has  remitted,  in  specie,  within  that  whole  time. 

There  are  many  other  objections,  which  you  will  be  prepared  to 
meet.     For  the  present  I  conclude. 
18 


238  l^^FE   OF  EVARTS. 


TO  MESSRS.  PAKSONS  AND  FISK,  MISSIONARIES  TO  PALESTINE. 

Boston,  February  19, 1S21. 

We  are  greatly  apprehensive  that  our  missions  will  all  suffer  for 
want  of  funds.  Most  of  them  are  suffering  now,  and  our  resources 
to  meet  their  various  wants  are  very  small.  Pray,  therefore,  pray 
earnestly  for  an  increase  of  the  spirit  of  self-denial  in  your  native 
country. 

The  poverty  of  our  treasury,  while  it  lasts,  will  effectually  pre- 
vent our  sending  missionaries  to  Smyrna,  or  any  where  else. 
When  this  poverty  will  be  removed,  I  cannot  pretend  to  conjecture. 
It  will  be  when  the  Lord  of  missions  pleases  ;  but  not,  I  think,  till 
he  has  brought  us  to  a  lower  ebb,  and  made  us  feel  that  we  are 
nothing  and  He  is  all.  It  would  indeed  be  a  melancholy  thing,  if 
Christians  in  this  country  should  not  be  deemed  worthy  to  take 
any  considerable  part  in  the  conversion  of  the  world.  But  the 
Lord  will  select  his  own  instruments,  and  honor  whom  he  pleases 
as  the  messengers  of  his  mercy  to  a  perishing  world. 

You  will  see,  by  our  publications,  that  we  do  not  intend  to 
betray  the  cause  by  lowering  the  claims  of  charity,  or  suffering  the 
community  to  remain  ignorant  of  our  necessities. 

An  exertion  has  been  made  in  this  town,  which  will  gratify  you 
much.  In  consequence  of  the  representations  made  in  Mr. 
Williamson's*  letter,  on  the  advantages  of  a  printing  establishment 
at  Smyrna  and  another  at  Jerusalem,  a  subscription  has  been 
opened  to  raise  three  thousand  dollars  a  year,  for  five  years,  for  the 
sole  purpose  of  keeping  in  operation  a  printing  establishment  for 
Western  Asia,  under  the  care  of  our  Board  and  its  missionaries. 
We  have  held  two  meetings  on  the  subject ;  the  last  of  them  be- 
fore the  reception  of  your  journals,  which  so  abundantly  illustrate 
the  suitableness  of  a  press  in  vigorous  operation  to  aid  in  the  great 
work  of  conveying  the  Gospel  to  the  millions  in  those  countries 
who  are  ignorant  of  salvation  and  debased  by  superstition. 

Keep  us  well  informed  as  to  the  best  way  of  promoting  this 
cause,  and  by  the  Divine  blessing  funds  for  the  printing  establish- 
ment will  be  abundant. 

Dr.   Worcester  is   absent  on  a   voyage  to  New  Orleans  and  a 

*  British  Chaplain  at  Malta. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  I39 

visit  to  the  Indian  missions  for  the  benefit  of  his  health  and  of  the 
missions.  His  life  and  services  are  invaluable.  Pray  much  for 
him  and  for  us  all. 

TO    REV.    CYRUS    KINGSBURY. 

Boston,  March  8, 1S21. 

Providence  has  restrained  our  means,  and  we  are  driven  to  the 
alternative  of  withholding  expected  supplies  from  the  Cherokee, 
Choctaw,  and  Arkansas  missions,  or  of  suffering  our  brethren  in 
the  East  to  remain  destitute  of  support  till  they  shall  draw  upon 
us  at  such  a  disadvantage  and  to  such  an  amount,  that  we  cannot 
pay  their  bills,  and  all  our  operations,  our  credit,  and  our  reputa- 
tion, as  a  Board,  come  to  a  dead  stand  together.  I  think,  there- 
fore, that  your  buildings  at  Mayhew  and  your  operations  in 
the  Six  Towns  must  be  suspended,  unless  they  can  be  carried  on 
without  drawing  much  from  our  Treasury,  or  running  into  debt. 
If  the  Indians  should  be  disappointed  and  discouraged,  the  evil 
seems  inevitable. 

How  great  donations  may  be  obtained  by  Dr.  Worcester  in 
Louisiana  and  Mississippi,  cannot  be  estimated  by  me,  as  I  know 
not  very  definitely  the  situation  of  those  countries.  I  wish  that 
he  and  Mr.  B.  may  receive  a  great  deal.  In  my  letter  to  Dr. 
Worcester  of  this  morning,  I  have  expressed  the  opinion,  that  not 
more  than  five  thousand  dollars  can  be  paid  from  the  treasury  for 
all  the  Indian  missions  between  this  day  and  the  first  of  Septem- 
ber, without  danger  of  great  embarrassment. 

My  letter  of  July  3d,  I  considered,  and  I  presume  you  considered, 
as  a  full  and  fair  warning  of  the  embarrassments  which  you  and 
your  brethren  might  be  compelled  to  meet.  In  that  letter  I  re- 
gretted that  our  recent  remittance  to  India  was  so  scanty  ;  yet  we 
have  not  sent  a  single  dollar  since  that  day,  and  in  the  shipment 
soon  to  be  made  we  must  send  less  than  half  as  much  as  would 
be  desirable. 

The  liberality  of  your  laborers  in  making  donations  for  the  use 
of  the  mission,  is  very  pleasing.  If  all  the  laborers  in  our  coun- 
try would  imitate  the  example,  the  effect  would  be  grand. 

While  the  Lord  is  trying  us  in  various  ways,  let  us  not  forget  to 
praise  his  name  for  what  he  has  done ;  and  let  us  not  faint,  nor  be 


140  I^IFE   OF  EVARTS. 

discouraged.     He  will  accomplish  great  and  glorious  things  in  his 
own  time,  and  with  such  agents  and  instruments  as  he  chooses. 

Do  not  suppose,  my  dear  sir,  that  we  feel  unmindful  of  your 
cares,  labors,  and  sacrifices  ;  of  the  sickness,  and  pain,  and  be- 
reavement, which  you  have  experienced.  We  sympathize  most 
tenderly  with  you  in  all  these  things.  We  praise  God  that  you 
have  had  so  much  strength,  resolution,  courage,  and  perseverance. 
Let  these  virtues  be  in  you  and  abound.  Pray  for  us,  that  we 
may  have  wisdom  and  fidelity,  and  that  God  may  vouchsafe  his 
merciful  direction.  For  myself  1  feel  an  amazing  responsibility, 
especially  during  the  absence  of  Dr.  Worcester.  Every  sentence 
which  is  now  printed  in  the  Herald,  respecting  our  Board  and  its 
objects,  needs  to  be  weighed  with  care.  The  correspondence 
with  contributors  and  donors  is  very  great ;  and,  beside  this,  the 
labor  of  providing  for  all  our  stations  is  not  small.  We  have  no 
adequate  provision  for  clerk  hire,  &tc.,  and  I  expect  soon  to  be 
left  destitute  of  all  help  of  this  kind,  except  what  I  can  employ 
occasionally.  I  do  not  mention  these  things  because  I  wish  the 
labors  of  my  office  less.  On  the  contrary,  I  wish  them  so  much 
greater,  that  the  Christian  public  would  make  ample  provision  for 
clerks,  porters,  he.  This  will  some  time  be  the  case,  if  the  world 
is  ever  converted  by  human  instrumentality.  In  the  mean  time 
let  us  be  willing  to  wear  out  as  fast  as  duty  requires,  taking  all 
prudent  means  to  preserve  health  and  life. 

TO    REV.    ARD    HOYT.* 

Boston,  March  14,1821. 

You  will  be  aware,  from  what  I  have  already  written,  that  it 
would  be  highly  improper  to  think  of  sending  out  more  laborers 
while  our  present  embarrassments  continue.  We  cannot  send 
them  without  great  expense — we  have  not  the  money — we  have 
not  time  to  select  suitable  persons — and  our  feeble  powers  must 
be  directed  to  save  from  sinking  the  missions  already  in  existence 
and  the  missionaries  already  on  the  ground. 

So  nmch  writing  as  I  have  been  obliged  to  do,  has  produced  a 
weakness  in  my  breast,  which  threatens  at  least  to  suspend  my 
labors. 

*  Missionary  at  Brainerd. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 


141 


The  whole  care  of  the  Missionary  Herald,  with  my  increasing 
correspondence,  and  a  thousand  little  concerns  of  all  the  missions,  is 
more  than  I  can  well  bear.  I  rejoice  to  labor  in  this  cause,  and  to 
wear  out  in  it.  The  Lord  enable  me  so  to  apportion  my  attempts 
to  serve  him,  that  I  may  be  an  instrument  of  accomplishing  some- 
thing for  his  glory. 

TO    MESSRS.    PARSONS    AND    FISK. 

Boston,  March  30,  1S21. 

You  will  not  forget,  dear  brethren,  that  we  have  but  one  life  in 
which  to  do  good  ;  that  every  opportunity  is  precious ;  that  the 
eyes  of  the  world  are  upon  you  ;  that  soon  we  must  all  appear 
at  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ. 

The  greater  part  of  our  missions  have  been  sifted  as  wheat. 
Let  all  who  are  engaged  in  the  great  work  of  sending  the  Gospel 
abroad,  look  well  to  their  motives  and  their  measures.  Oh  may  the 
Lord  interfere  for  a  fallen,  ruined  world,  and  fill  the  earth  with  his 
glory. 

TO    DR.    WORCESTER. 

Boston,  April  2d,  1S121. 

My  two  letters  to  Mr.  Hoyt  will  show  that  our  Indian  missions 
must  not  draw  on  me  as  they  have  done.  Rather  tlian  do  this, 
they  must, 

L     Dismiss  all  their  hired  help,  without  exception. 

2.     Dismiss  their  schools. 

It  is  to  be  understood  that,  before  either  of  these  measures  are 
resorted  to,  they  must  suspend  all  their  new  establishments. 

If  these  missions  can  keep  along  without  drawing  on  me  till  next 
fall,  and  without  running  in  debt,  1  have  hope  that  our  treasury 
may  then  begin  to  supply  them  again. 

After  the  shipments  of  money  to  the  East  which  are  now  pre 
paring,  and  which  are  still  quite  inadequate,  our  expenditures  since 
the  last  annual  meeting  will  have  exceeded  our  receipts  by  more  than 
ten  thousand  dollars  ;  that  is,  full  half  the  permanent  fund  is  ex- 
hausted ;  and  we  shall  soon  be  totally  unable  to  meet  drafts,  if 
they  come  in  so  rapidly,  and  our  receipts  are  not  increased. 

You  will  see  by   the    April   Herald,   that   the  receipts   for  the 


142  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

month  preceding  March  21st,  were  ^'5,487  65.  Let  us  give 
thanks.  It  will  require  similar  receipts  till  next  January,  to  enable 
us  to  meet  our  engagements.  For  the  last  ten  days  the  prospects 
are  not  so  promising  ;  but  I  have  observed  some  striking  tokens 
that  the  Lord  will  carry  on  his  own  work. 

TO    REV.    CALVIN    CHAPIN,    D.    D. 

Boston,  April  17,  1S21. 

For  the  qualifications  of  assistant  missionaries,  I  refer  you  to  a 
note  in  Panoplist,  vol.  xv,  page  377,  August,  1819.  That  note 
was  written  with  more  deliberation  than  I  can  now  apply  to  the 
subject ;  and  what  reminds  me  of  it  at  present  is,  that  it  has  been 
recently  copied  into  the  London  Missionary  Register  with  appro- 
bation. I  add  the  following  hints,  which  you  can  suggest  to  ap- 
plicants according  to  your  wisdom,  and  in  your  own  manner. 

1st.  All  missionaries  or  assistants,  sent  with  the  advice  and 
patronage  of  our  Board,  must  be  entirely  under  our  direction  ;  and 
this  must  be  so  thoroughly  understood,  that  they  can  never  plead 
ignorance,  or  feel  themselves  at  liberty  to  disown  the  obligation. 

2d.  It  is  a  solemn  and  awful  truth,  that  there  never  has  been  a 
single  mission,  consisting  of  any  considerable  number  of  individuals, 
in  which  some  of  the  members  have  not  altogether  deceived  them- 
selves, and  disappointed  the  hopes  of  their  friends.  I  mean,  I  have 
never  heard  of  such  a  mission,  if  the  history  was  minutely  known. 
If  there  is  any  exception,  it  is  among  the  Moravians.  Let  these 
facts  be  pondered  by  every  man  who  thinks  of  offering  himself,  or 
of  recommending  another. 

3d.  No  man  can  tell  how  great  a  change  it  makes  when  the 
pressure  of  civil  society,  and  especially  of  Christian  society,  is 
taken  off. 

4th.  It  is  absolutely  impossible  for  an  applicant  to  know 
the  real  trials  of  a  missionary  life.  What  then  shall  be  done  to 
ascertain  whether  he  can  bear  those  trials  ?  He  must  have  been 
put  to  some  trials  here.  His  character  must,  as  far  as  possible,  be 
a  tried  character. 

5th.  After  piety,  missionary  qualifications  stand  in  the  following 
order  :  good  temper,  commonly  called  good  nature, — a  habit  of 
disinterestedness,  or  attention  to  the  wants  of  others — cheerfulness 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  I43 

— perseverance — energy.  They  are  all  necessary  to  a  well  qualified 
missionary  ;  the  two  first  are  indispensable  to  the  comfort  of  mis- 
sion families.  No  man  knows  the  importance  of  good  temper, 
(I  have  it  from  experienced  judges,)  who  has  not  been  a  long 
voyage,  nor  seen  a  large  number  of  persons  huddled  together  with 
slender  conveniences. 

Be  assured,  dear  sir,  amid  the  multifarious  cares  of  superintend- 
ing missionary  concerns,  the  most  oppressing  is  the  apprehension 
of  defection  or  incompetency  in  the  persons  sent  out,  after  every 
possible  scrutiny.  We  are  a  frail  and  feeble  race, — earthen  ves- 
sels, many  of  which  get  dashed  to  pieces  in  handling.  Yet  it 
has  pleased  God  that  such  vessels  should  be  employed  to  commu- 
nicate his  Gospel.  Let  us  humble  ourselves  before  God,  while  we 
praise  him  for  what  he  has  done. 

The  following  extract  of  a  letter  received  by  Mr.  Evarts  from 
Dr.  Worcester  about  this  time,  is  copied  as  a  beautiful  expression 
of  the  devotedness  of  both  to  the  service  of  missions,  and  of  their 
mutual  confidence  in  each  other.  After  speaking  of  the  opportu- 
nity afforded  by  his  voyage  for  self-examination  and  a  review  of 
his  life,  especially  in  respect  to  its  more  public  employments,  the 
writer  says ; 

"  One  thing  is  consummated  and  settled  in  my  mind,  and  that  is, 
a  full  and  delightful  conviction,  that  the  cause  of  missions  has 
never  held  too  high  a  place  in  my  estimation,  nor  engaged  too  large 
a  share  of  my  attention.  This  is  saying  nothing,  and  less  than 
nothing.  It  transcends — immeasurably  transcends — the  highest 
estimation  of  every  created  mind.  And  what  is  the  sacrifice  of 
health — what  the  sacrifice  of  life — to  such  a  cause  ?  Be  the  event 
what  it  may — recovered  health,  or  early  death — I  never  can  regret 
what  I  have  done  in  this  work  ; — but  only  that  I  have  done  so 
little,  and  with  a  heart  so  torpid. 

"  Though  it  may  seem  good  to  our  Master  and  Lord  to  lay  me 
aside,  you,  my  dearest  friend,  will,  I  devoutly  hope  and  pray,  be 
continued  in  the  work  for  many  years.  I  know  well  that  you  too 
have  found  it  arduous  ;  and  that  you  have  long  been,  and  still  are, 
urgently  pressed  by  earthly  considerations,  to  relinquish  the  situa- 
tion, which,  so  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  friends  of  missions, 


144  I^IFE   OF  EVARTS. 

you  have  for  nine  years  held.  It  will  not  grieve  you  in  the  world 
to  come,  if  it  shall  appear  that  you  have  given  up  earthly  objects 
of  great  seeming  magnitude  and  interest,  that  many  might  be 
brought  from  the  confines  of  eternal  darkness  to  the  abodes  of  im- 
mortal light.  The  world  has  votaries  enough — enough  who  are 
deluded  by  its  shows  and  its  promises  ;  and  who,  to  the  neglect 
of  their  own  eternal  interests  and  those  of  their  fellow  beings,  give 
themselves  wholly  to  its  fascinations  and  pursuits.  Let  the  few 
whose  minds  and  hearts  have  been  raised  to  higher  views  and 
aspirations,  exhibit  full  and  unquestionable  proof  of  their  heavenly 
birth,  their  immeasurable  superiority  to  the  world,  and  their 
unreserved  and  unregretted  devotedness  to  Him  who  haih  called 
them  unto  his  kingdom  and  glory.  If,  for  the  unsubstantial,  and 
momentary  objects  of  earthly  pursuit,  the  children  of  this  world 
eagerly  traverse  land  and  sea,  encounter  dangers  of  every  form,  and 
put  health  and  life  and  whatever  is  dear  to  them  at  stake  ;  what 
labors,  or  sacrifices,  or  sufferings,  should  not  the  children  of  light 
ever  hold  themselves  ready  to  yield,  when  the  imperishable  in- 
terests of  the  kingdom  of  light  are  to  be  promoted  ?  The  world 
yet  lieth  in  wickedness — in  darkness  and  corruption.  The  Gospel 
is  the  only  remedy — the  means  prescribed  by  sovereign  wisdom 
for  Its  recovery.  To  communicate  the  Gospel  to  all  the  families  of 
the  earth,  is  a  work  to  be  done  by  those  who  have  felt  its  power, 
and  know  its  value.  They  have  no  time  to  lose — no  advantages 
to  be  neglected — no  talents  to  be  held  unoccupied." 

TO    DR.    WORCESTER, 

Boston,  May  5, 18121. 

Your  letter  to  Mr.  Cornelius  from  "  Doak's,  Choctaw  Wilder- 
ness," came  to  hand  yesterday  and  he  kindly  sent  me  a  copy  last 
evening. 

We  were  greatly  surprised  and  distressed  not  to  hear  from  you 
in  relation  to  your  health  at  Natchez.  Your  letter  to  me,  dated 
March  23d,  at  that  place,  came  to  hand  April  20th.  Not  hearing 
any  thing  more,  I  began  to  fear  that  you  were  detained  at 
Natchez  by  severe  sickness,  and  that  you  preferred  not  to  write, 
nor  to  permit  any  one  else  to  write,  till  a  crisis  should  have  ar- 
rived.    Your  letter  of  April  6th  to  Mr.  Cornelius,  gives  us  reason 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  '  145 

to  hope  you  will  get  through  the  wilderness  better  than  we  had 
feared.  But  our  time  and  strength  and  opportunities  of  useful- 
ness, are  all  in  the  Lord's  hands, — a  truth  which  you  doubtless  feel 
and  rejoice  in,  and  from  which  you  derive  constant  motives  to  labor 
when  strength  is  afforded,  and  to  submission  when  strength  is 
taken  away. 

In  regard  to  our  various  concerns,  I  have  nothing  material  to 
say,  more  than  you  will  have  found  in  my  letters  to  Brainerd, 
Eliot,  and  Talony,  and  in  the  Missionary  Herald, — the  May 
number  of  which  was  put  into  the  mail  two  days  ago.  We  all 
feel  a  deep  interest  in  your  restoration  to  health  and  to  prolonged 
and  increased  activity  in  the  best  of  causes.  May  the  Lord  direct 
to  the  wisest  and  best  means  for  that  end  ;  and  may  the  friends  of 
missions  derive  a  profitable  lesson  from  the  partial  suspension  of 
labors  which  they  esteem  so  valuable.  We  think  of  making  an 
effort  in  this  town  in  behalf  of  the  Board,  within  a  few  weeks. 
May  the  Lord  prosper  it. 

Accept  my  affectionate  salutation.  If  the  Lord  should  call  you 
to  suffer  continued  weakness  and  weariness,  may  you  be  sustained 
by  the  same  grace  which  was  sufficient  for  the  great  Apostle  of 
the  Gentiles,  in  his  various  trials  and  wanderings  for  the  cause  of 
Christ." 

In  letters  to  other  correspondents,  Mr.  Evarts  expressed  more 
lively  apprehensions  respecting  the   result  of  his  friend's  sickness. 

"  We  are  distressed  (he  says,  June  6th,)  with  apprehensions  for 
the  health  and  life  of  Dr.  Worcester.  Our  last  date  from  him  was 
May  6th,  in  the  heart  of  the  Choctaw  nation,  at  May  hew.  He  had 
been  very  low,  but  was  somewhat  better.  The  Lord  of  missions 
reigneth,  and  will  accomplish  his  holy  and  glorious  purposes  ;  but 
we  cannot  see  what  we  shall  do,  if  this  pillar  of  the  missionary 
cause  in  our  country  should  be  removed." 

And  again,  June  21  : 

"  The  threatening  sickness  of  Dr.  Worcester  has  filled  the  hearts 
of  many  with  anxiety.     Should  he  be   entirely  removed  from  his 
earthly  labors,  we  see  not  how  his  place  could  be  supplied.     The 
19 


146  I^IFE   OF  EVARTS. 

suspension  of  them  is  deeply  felt.  But  I  would  not  indulge  a 
murmur.  The  Lord  of  missions  knows  who  are  to  be  his  agents, 
and  he  will  bring  them  forward  in  due  time." 

The  affliction  that  he  feared,  was  at  hand.  At  the  date  of  the 
last  extract,  his  fellow  laborer  and  friend,  with  whom  he  had  been 
so  intimately  connected  in  the  cause  dearest  to  the  hearts  of  both 
from  the  beginning,  and  which  owed  its  form  and  its  success  so 
much  to  their  mutual  counsels  and  cares,  had  already  fallen  asleep 
in  Jesus.  He  had  reached  Brainerd,  where  he  died  amid  the  tears 
and  prayers  of  his  missionary  friends,  and  where  his  body  was 
consigned  to  the  grave, — adding  a  new  and  peculiar  interest,  in 
the  eye  of  the  Christian  traveller,  in  after  years,  to  a  lovely  spot 
that  was  already  the  centre  of  many  hallowed  associations.* 

TO    REV.    ARD    HOYT. 

Boston,  July  9,  1S21. 

"  Your  letter  accompanying  the  journals  of  the  mission,  and 
giving  an  account  of  the  departure  of  our  beloved  friend  and  my 
highly  revered  associate,  came  to  hand  on  Saturday.  We  learned 
this  distressing  event  by  a  letter  from  Mr.  Hall,  dated  June  lOih, 
and  received  29th,  the  same  day  that  your  letter  of  June  5th 
reached  Mrs.  Worcester.  She  was  therefore  informed  of  the  im- 
minent danger  of  her  dear  husband  in  the  morning,  and  of  his  death 
in  the  evening  of  the  same  day. 

We  had  many  gloomy  anticipations  respecting  the  issue  of  his 
sickness  ;  but  as  Providence  had  wonderfully  brought  him  on  his 
way,  we  were  not  without  hopes  of  his  reaching  home  in  safety, 
and  being  able  to  promote  the  missionary  cause  by  his  counsels, 
if  not  by  his  active  labors.  The  Christian  community  feel  the 
loss  very  deeply  and  very  extensively  ;  our  Board  will  mourn  with 
peculiar  feeling  over  the  grave  of  an  agent  so  invaluable,  and  an 
associate  so  beloved  ;  and  as  to  myself,  where  can  I  find,  on  this 
side  the  grave,  such  a  counsellor  and  such  a  friend  ?  How  this 
breach  is  to   be  repaired  we  know  not ;  but  we  do  know   that  the 

*  In  1S44,  the  mission  having  been  long  before  removed,  the  remains  of  Dr.  "Wor- 
cester were  disinterred  and  carried  to  Salem,  the  scene  of  his  principal  labors  on  earth, 
where  they  now  rest  in  the  Harmony  Grove  cemetery. 


LIFE    OF   EVARTS.  I47 

Lord  of  missions  is  able  to  raise  up  such  agents  as  he  will  ac- 
knowledge and  bless.  Pray  much  and  earnestly  on  this  subject. 
Pray  that  God  would  glorify  his  name  by  making  it  known  for  the 
salvation  of  many  heathen. 

The  funeral  solemnities  on  account  of  the  death  of  this  great 
and  good  man  will  be  attended  at  Salem  on  the  12th.  The  Rev. 
Dr.  Woods  is  to  preach. 

I  want  to  write  to  you  at  great  length  on  this  subject,  but  I 
cannot  possibly  do  it  now.  Would  time  permit,  I  should  pro- 
pose many  questions.  I  hope  you  will  preserve  every  thing 
which  the  departed  saint  said  in  his  last  days.  Your  journal  is 
faithful,  no  doubt,  and  very  interesting.  It  prompts  to  many 
questions,  as  we  should  gladly  catch  every  whisper  from  such  a 
man,  on  such  an  embassy,  and  just  on  the  verge  of  heaven." 

But  in  this  season  of  trial  and  affliction,  Mr.  Evarts  was  not 
without  peculiar  and  great  consolations.  At  the  close  of  March, 
and  again  in  June,  he  received  letters  from  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
giving  an  account  of  the  arrival  and  favorable  reception  of  the 
missionaries  there,  and  of  the  wonderful  providences  by  which  the 
way  of  the  Lord  had  been  prepared.  In  the  singular  events  that 
had  led  to  the  establishment  of  this  mission,  he  had  from  the  first 
taken  the  liveliest  interest  ;  and  the  preparation  and  fitting  out  of 
the  first  company  of  missionaries  had  cost  him  months  of  care  and 
labor. 

TO    MISSIONARIES    AT    THE    SANDWICH    ISLANDS. 

Boston,  July  9,  1821. 

"This  will  probably  be  the  first  communication  from  our  Board, 
which  will  come  to  your  hand,  having  been  written  after  your  ar- 
rival and  reception  were  known  in  this  country.  On  opening  your 
various  packages,  you  will  perceive  a  deficiency — more  to  be  de- 
plored by  you  all,  than  any  other  which  you  could  anticipate. 
The  hand  of  our  beloved  and  revered  Dr.  Worcester  writes  no 
more  with  pen  and  ink  in  this  vale  of  tears.  It  lies  cold  and 
powerless  in  the  mission  burying  ground  at  Brainerd.  His  mind 
is  no  more  employed  in  devising  and  directing  missionary  enter- 
prises on  earth  ;  but  we  trust  it  is  employed  in  noble  services  and 


148  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

with  ineffable  delight  in  the    presence  of  that  Saviour  whose  de- 
voted servant  he  was. 

We  received  the  news  of  this  afflicting  event  only  ten  days 
ago.  Of  the  illness  and  journey  of  our  departed  friend,  you  will 
receive  intelligence  in  the  Missionary  Herald,  which  brings  down 
the  history  of  his  journey  to  May  SStli,  on  which  day  he  arrived  at 
Brainerd.  He  lingered  in  extreme  debility  till  the  morning  of 
June  7th,  when  he  was  released  from  the  pains  and  cares  of  mor- 
tality, and  as  he  fondly  anticipated,  we  trust  on  the  best  grounds, 
was  received  to  the  arms  of  the  Redeemer. 

Your  letters  and  journals  by  the  Levant  reached  my  hand  on 
the  21st  of  March,  a  day  which  I  shall  long  remember  with  pecu- 
liar sensations.  With  what  avidity  your  communications  were 
read,  you  will  easily  discern  from  the  many  publications  which  you 
will  receive  by  this  and  other  opportunities. 

And?:here  let  me  observe,  that  what  you  see  in  the  Missionary 
Herald  relative  to  your  mission,  appearing  as  editorial  matter,  you 
may  consider  as  written  with  more  deliberation  than  I  can  write 
in  a  letter,  and  as  designed,  so  far  as  it  is  applicable,  to  express 
my  mind  and  the  mind  of  the  Prudential  Committee.  And  this 
will  doubtless  be  the  case,  so  long  as  the  Herald  shall  be  published 
by  the  Board,  and  conducted  by  its  officers.  This  consideration 
will,  at  times,  remove  the  appearance  of  neglect  on  certain  topics 
which  are  sufficiently  discussed  there. 

For  the  various  kind  interpositions  of  Providence  in  your  be- 
half— for  the  establishment  of  the  mission,  the  favorable  regards 
of  the  natives — the  commencement  of  schools,  the  general  health 
and  harmony  of  the  mission  families,  and  the  respect  and  confi- 
dence and  generous  aid  of  foreigners,  we  bless  the  God  and  Fa- 
ther of  our  Lord  and  Savior.  To  Him  be  the  praise  and  the 
glory.     Amen. 

We  are  aware,  dear  brethren,  of  the  many  trials,  temptations,  and 
dangers  that  beset  your  path.  We  know  that  you  need  the  divine 
direction  at  every  step  of  your  progress.  Many  prayers  are  con- 
tinually offered  in  your  behalf;  and  we  hope  that  the  same  divine 
goodness  which  has  befriended  you,  in  so  signal  a  manner,  will 
continue  to  guard  you  and  make  you  greatly  honored  instruments 
in  the  promotion  of  the  cause  of  Christ  among  the  heathen. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  I49 

This  letter  was  written  in  haste,  after  nine  at  night,  after  the 
close  of  a  laborious  day.  I  must  close  it,  assuring  you  that  it 
bears  my  cordial  regards  for  the  welfare  of  you  all,  and  my  par- 
ticular and  affectionate  salutations  to  you  individually." 

The  circumstances  of  Dr.  Worcester's  death  are  more  particu- 
larly stated  in  a  brief  memoir,  prepared  by  Mr.  Evarts  for  the 
Missionary  Herald.  Noticing  his  departure  from  Mayhew,  he  says — 

"  The  next  morning  he  set  out  for  Brainerd ;  and  was  accompa- 
nied by  Mr.  Kingsbury  to  Columbus,  a  distance  of  eighteen  miles, 
where  he  arrived  with  little  fatigue.  Doct.  Pride,  who  met  him  at 
New  Orleans,  had  been  with  him  three  months,  and  was  about  to 
attend  him  to  the  north,  was  taken  ill  of  a  fever  a  hundred  miles 
from  Columbus.  After  waiting  three  days,  it  was  found  that  Doct. 
Pride  could  not  proceed,  and  he  subsequently  returned  to  Mayhew. 
This  must  have  been  a  severe  disappointment  to  both.  A  stran- 
ger was  hired  ;  and  the  weary  languishing  traveller  proceeded  on 
his  way  to  Brainerd,  where  he  arrived  sooner  than  could  have 
been  expected,  considering  his  weakness,  and  the  difficulties  of 
the  journey. 

"On  the  25th  of  May  he  was  carried  in  the  arms  of  the  raission- 
ries,  from  his  vehicle  to  the  mission-house.  Soon  after  his  arrival, 
it  was  observed  to  him,  (we  quote  from  the  Missionary  Journal,) 
that  "  he  had  got  almost  through  the  wilderness."  He  replied, 
"  This  may  be  true  in  more  respects  than  one.  God  is  gracious.  He 
has  sustained  me,  as  it  were  by  miracle,  thus  far,  and  granted  me 
one  great  desire  of  my  soul,  in  bringing  me  to  Brainerd  ;  and  if  it 
be  agreeable  to  his  holy  purposes,  that  I  should  leave  my  poor  re- 
mains here,  his  will  be  done."  He  said  further,  "  I  had  rather 
leave  my  poor  remains  here,  than  at  any  other  place." 

"  On  the  following  Sabbath,  "  the  members  of  the  church,  and 
some  of  the  congregation  were  introduced  to  him,  at  his  request ; 
and  being  raised  in  his  bed,  he  addressed  them  in  few  w^ords.  His 
address,  though  short,  was  peculiarly  feeling  and  interesting."  He 
afterwards  requested  that  the  children  might  come  in.  "  He  took 
each  by  the  hand  as  they  passed  the  bed.  Having  all  passed  round 
in  procession,  they  stood  and  sang  a  hymn.  He  was  affected  to 
tears  most  of  the  time.  After  the  hymn,  he  addressed  them  in  a 
most  affectionate  manner,  which,  in  turn,  melted  them  to  tears." 

"  His  complaints  became  more  alarming  almost  daily  ;  and,  on 
the  second  of  June,  he  desired  that  a  letter  might  be  written  to 
his  wife,  of  which  he  dictated  a  part,  giving  a  brief  notice  of  his 
journey  from  Mayhew  to  Brainerd  ;  requesting  Mr.  Hoyt  to  w^rite 
as  he  thought  proper,  with  respect  to  the  probable  issue  of  the 
sickness. 

On  the  5th  the  journal  says  :  "  Our  dear  friend  is  fast  going  to 
the  eternal  world.     In  the  morning  we  gave  up  all  hopes  of  his  re- 


150 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 


covery.  For  short  intervals,  during  the  day,  he  has  been  in  a 
state  of  mental  derangement ;  but,  even  in  this  state,  his  mind 
was  employed  on  the  great  subject  of  building  churches,  and  ex- 
tending the  dear  Hedeemer's  kingdom. 

"  '  G.  During  the  day  he  has  been  insensible  to  pain  ;  and,  to 
appearance,  spent  much  of  his  time  in  prayer.  He  said,  if  he 
were  to  choose,  he  had  rather  go  and  be  with  Jesns,  than  dwell  in 
the  flesh.  He  did  not  regret  engaging  in  the  missionary  cause  ; 
but  rejoiced  that  he  had  been  enabled  to  do  something  toward 
this  great  object." 

"  'After  an  affectionate  lamentation,  the  journal  of  the  7th  records 
the  afflicting  event,  which  had  been  anticipated.  "  This  morning, 
about  7  o'clock,  he  cast  his  eyes  towards  heaven,  and  smiling,  re- 
signed his  spirit  to  God.  Without  the  least  apparent  pain  or 
struggle,  he  fell  asleep  in  the  arms  of  Jesus." 

"  Two  days  afterwards  the  last  offices  of  kindness  were  per- 
formed ;  a  procession  followed  the  corpse  to  the  grave  ;  and  Mr. 
Hoyt  preached  a  funeral  sermon  from  Psalm  cxii,  6.  The  right- 
cous  shall  he  in  everlasfAng  remembrance. 

"  Thus  departed  from  this  life  a  distinguished  servant  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  who  had  lived  for  many  years  with  his  eye  intent  on 
heaven,  and  who  brought  down  blessings  upon  his  fellow  men  by 
his  disinterested  services  and  his  fervent  prayers  :  highly  honored 
in  the  circumstances  of  his  death ; — on  missionary  ground,  bearing 
his  last  testimony  to  the  glory  of  the  missionary  cause  ;  surrounded 
by  his  brethren  engaged  in  this  divine  employment,  and  by  a 
church  gathered  from  pagans  of  the  wilderness  under  his  own  su- 
perintendence ;  the  hynms  of  converted  Cherokees  vibrating  in 
his  ear,  as  a  prelude  to  the  song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb.- 

"  Who  that  contemplates  the  preceding  character,  and  especially, 
who  that  was  intimately  acquainted  with  the  original,  does  not  see 
the  exalting  and  purifying  tendency  of  the  cause  of  missions  ? 
What  other  cause  is  so  grand  in  its  extent,  so  beneficent  in  its  de- 
sign, so  sure  in  its  issue,  so  glorious  in  its  triumphs  ?  Compared 
with  the  mighty  interests  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  the  concerns 
of  earthly  monarchies  are  small  and  trifling.  It  is  indeed  wonder- 
ful that  feeble  men,  with  their  sins  and  imperfections,  should  be 
employed  in  a  work  which  might  well  occupy  the  powers  of  ser- 
aphs and  archangels.  Since,  however,  it  has  pleased  God  to  make 
some  of  our  race  the  instruments  of  his  mercy  to  others,  we  might 
well  conclude  that  a  faithful  discharge  of  such  an  office  would 
conduce  to  the  highest  elevation  of  the  human  character.  So  in- 
deed we  find  it.  The  names  of  Brainerd,  Swartz,  Buchanan,  Mar- 
tyn,  stand  as  memorials  of  illustrious  virtue.  With  these,  and  such 
as  these,  the  name  of  Worcestek,  will  be  inscribed,  as  an  exam- 
ple to  future  generations." 

These  impressive  paragraphs  breathe  no  mere  evanescent  feel- 
in  o^.     The  character  of  his  departed  friend  was  a   treasure  to  Mr. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  151 

Evarts  ;  and  on  a  subsequent  occasion,  he  paid  to  it  the  following 
tribute,  as  just  as  it  is  beautiful  and  touching  : 

"  Amid  numerous  indications  of  the  divine  favor  toward  the 
cause  in  which  the  members  of  this  Board  are  embarked,  one 
event  has  transpired,  which  comes  home  to  each  of  our  hearts 
with  all  the  poignancy  of  a  personal  affliction  while  it  rests  upon 
us,  and  upon  the  friends  of  missions  generally,  with  all  the  weight 
of  a  public  calamity.  Our  beloved  and  revered  Corresponding 
Secretary  has  finished  his  earthly  course, — a  course  of  pre-eminent 
usefulness,  dignity,  and  Christian  virtue,  terminating  at  the  seat  of 
a  highly  favored  mission,  and  in  a  manner  most  consoling  to  sur- 
vivors, and  honorable  to  the  work  which  had  so  long  employed  his 
best  affections,  and  received  the  benefit  of  his  eflicient  services. 

"  It  seems  not  less  the  dictate  of  justice  and  propriety,  than  of 
feehng,  to  advert,  on  this  occasion,  to  the  many  excellent  qualities 
by  which  our  departed  friend  and  associate  was  distinguished. 
The  strictly  religious  integrity  of  his  character,  his  disinterested- 
ness in  promoting  the  welfare  of  the  church,  his  great  prudence 
and  sagacity  in  the  management  of  important  concerns,  his  habit- 
ual piety  in  acknowledging  God  as  the  only  foundation  of  hope 
and  the  only  author  of  success  in  attempts  to  meliorate  the  con- 
dition of  man, — his  enlarged  benevolence,  the  genuine  eflect  of 
Christian  principle  operating  on  a  powerful  understanding, — his 
strong  and  inviolable  attachment  to  the  missionary  cause, — and  his 
assiduous  and  laborious  attention  to  the  duties  of  his  office,  will 
not  be  forgotten  by  any  who  were  intimately  acquainted  with 
him ;  and,  least  of  all,  by  those  who  were  so  happy  as  to  be  asso- 
ciated with  him  in  exertions  for  the  promotion  of  the  Redeemer's 
kingdom.  Of  his  superior  intelligence  and  his  great  practical  wis- 
dom, the  world  has  abundant  proofs  in  various  writings,  composed 
by  him  as  a  functionary  of  this  Board,  and  published  by  its  author- 
ity. His  impressive  exhibition  of  motives  to  activity  in  the  divine 
work  of  sending  the  gospel  to  the  heathen;  his  animating  appeals 
to  the  hberality,  and  to  the  kind  and  generous  feelings  of  the 
Christian  public ;  his  convincing  representations  of  the  ability  of 
the  American  churches  to  take  a  vigorous  and  active  part  in  the 
noblest  of  all  charities  ;  his  earnest  exhortations  to  the  perform- 
ance of  acknowledged  duties  ;  and  his  easy  and  gentle,  but  com- 
plete refutation  of  common  objections,  place  him  among  the  ablest 
and  most  successful  advocates  of  missions.  No  man  of  discern- 
ment, who  admits  the  gospel  to  be  a  remedial  system,  intended 
for  the  salvation  of  mankind,  can  read  the  reports  and  addresses 
which  proceeded  from  his  pen,  without  a  full  conviction  that  the 
claims  of  the  heathen  world  upon    Christendom  are   irresistible. 

"  Your  Committee  cannot  refrain  from  expressing  their  deep 
sense  of  the  great  and  peculiar  loss  which  they  have  experienced 
by  this  painful  bereavement.  They  had  long  enjoyed  the  most 
unreserved  intimacy  with  the  deceased.  In  numerous  consulta- 
tions, of  a  very  solemn  and  sacred  character,  they  had  witnessed 


152  ^IFE  ^F  EVARTS. 

his  uncommon  industry,  his  superior  judgment,  and  his  fidehty  in 
the  service  of  his  Divijie  Master.  Uniformly  kind,  obliging,  and 
respectful  to  his  brethren  of  the  Committee,  he  secured  their  cor- 
dial attachment;  and,  in  the  lapse  of  years,  the  affectionate  inter- 
change of  thoughts  and  feelings  ripened  into  the  tenderest  personal 
friendship.  An  intercourse  thus  formed  and  thus  cemented,  could 
not  be  suddenly  broken  off  without  tearing  asunder  some  of  the 
strongest  ligaments  which  bind  the  hearts  of  men  together.  The 
Committee  doubt  not  they  shall  receive  the  condolence  of  their 
brethren  on  this  severe  affliction.  Indeed,  many  assurances  of 
heartfelt  sympathy  have  already  been  communicated  from  res- 
pected friends  of  missions  in  different  and  remote  parts  of  our 
country,  who  were  not  acquainted  with  the  man  whose  memory 
they  revere,  except  by  his  public  character  and  his  benevolent 
labors.  The  Committee,  in  their  turn,  and  in  unison  with  the  feel- 
ings of  the  Christian  public  generally,  condole  with  the  afflicted 
family,  from  which  its  earthly  support,  and  counsellor,  and  guide, 
has  been  suddenly  removed. 

"  But  the  ftimily  and  all  other  survivors  have  great  and  heavenly 
consolations,  while  they  contemplate  the  bright  example  and  the 
favored  exit  of  our  departed  friend  and  brother.  He  is  not  dead, 
but  translated  to  a  new  and  glorious  life.  As  his  earthly  taberna- 
cle was  about  to  be  dissolved,  his  love  for  the  cause  of  Christ  be- 
came more  intense,  his  piety  more  elevated,  his  trust  in  God  un- 
shaken. He  neither  lived  to  Jbimsclf,  nor  died  to  himself.  His  life 
was  a  series  of  beneficent  actions,  begun  from  principle,  pursued 
with  ardor,  and  completed  with  holy  triumph.  His  removal  was 
in  strict  accordance  with  his  progressive  advancement  in  holiness, 
— a  seemly  continuation  of  the  same  uniform  history ; — the  links 
which  connect  the  heavenly  state  with  this  vale  of  tears,  shining 
with  peculiar  lustre.  Though  our  dull  organs  of  sense  will  never 
again  hear  his  voice  or  see  his  revered  form,  yet  he  speaks  to  us 
from  heaven  in  language  which  cannot  be  misunderstood.  He 
urges  us  to  self-denial,  to  activity,  to  diligence,  to  resolution,  ta 
perseverance,  in  our  exertions  to  make  known  the  name  of  our 
Saviour  among  the  heathen  nations.  He  admonishes  us  that  few 
will  be  the  years  in  which  we  can  enjoy  the  honor  and  the  privi- 
lege of  serving  our  Lord,  by  our  humble  agency  in  causing  his 
gospel  to  be  proclaimed ;  that  the  necessities  of  a  world  groaning 
under  the  dommion  of  sin  are  imperious,  and  must  not  be  deferred  ; 
and  that  the  command  of  our  ascended  Redeemer  cannot  be  treated 
with  indifference,  especially  in  this  day  of  increased  means,  of 
powerful  encouragements,  of  divine  attestations  to  the  efficacy  of 
the  gospel  among  the  most  depraved  and  barbarous  of  our  race. 
He  assures  us  that  if,  distrusting  ourselves  and  relying  upon  the 
all-sufficiency  of  God,  we  faithfully  discharge  our  known  duty, 
we  cannot  fail  of  an  eventual  triumph  and  an  eternal  reward. 

"  Let  us  then,  brethren,  listen  to  this  monitory  voice.  Let  us 
gird  ourselves  for  the  unwearied  labor.  Let  us  follow  the  banners  of 
the  great  Captain  of  Salvation  ;  and,  however  feeble  in  ourselves, 
let  us  expect  ultimately  to  prevail  through  divine  power,  and  to 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  I53 

share,  with  all  the  marshalled  hosts  of  the  Lord,  in  that  great 
victory  over  sin  and  Satan,  which  shall  be  celebrated  in  the 
regions  of  light  by  songs  of  everlasting  joy  and  praise." 

These  paragraphs  are  from  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Board, 
presented  in  September,  1821, — the  first  of  the  series  prepared  by 
Mr.  Evarts.  In  the  conclusion  of  that  document,  a  favorable 
change  in  the  state  of  the  Treasury  is  acknowledged  with  lively 
satisfaction  ;  *  and  the  feelings  of  Mr.  Evarts  in  relation  to  the 
general  subject  of  missions,  when  on  the  eve  of  succeeding  to  the 
office  of  his  departed  friend,  are  expressed  as  follows  : 

"  The  Christian  church  is  urgently  invited  to  enter  vigorously 
upon  the  work  of  missions  by  the  fact,  hitherto  unparalleled,  that 
many  pagan  countries  are  now  soliciting  missionaries,  and  anxious- 
ly desiring  their  arrival.  Not  only  are  the  inhabitants  of  these 
countries  in  pei'ishing  want  of  evangelical  instruction,  but  they  are 
in  some  degree  sensible  of  their  ignorance  and  their  wretchedness. 
They  stretch  out  their  imploring  hands  to  those  who  are  blessed 
with  the  true  religion,  and  ask  that  this  greatest  of  blessings  may 
be  imparted  to  them.  Thus,  while  the  fields  already  occupied  im- 
periously demand  more  laborers,  other  fields,  of  still  greater  extent, 
spread  themselves  before  the  eye,  and  are  ripe  for  the  sickle.  How 
painful  is  it,  that  the  gathering  of  this  spiritual  harvest  should  be 
delayed.  No  disciple  of  Christ  should  consent  to  a  delay  in  this 
momentous  concern  of  a  world's  recovery ;  unless,  after  a  diligent 
examination  of  the  subject,  it  shall  appear  that  a  delay  is  unavoid- 
able. 

"  In  conducting  such  an  examination,  it  is  important  to  bear  in 
mind  that,  so  far  as  our  own  country  is  concerned,  there  are  young 
men  and  women,  in  sufficient  numbers,  and  of  the  requisite  quali- 
fications, to  fill  every  department  of  missionary  labor.  By  suffi- 
cient numbers,  the  Committee  intend  such  an  accession  to  those 
who  are  already  employed,  as  would  strengthen  every  mission, 
and  make  new  establishments  with  every  returning  year.  If  this 
regular  increase  were  made,  and  the  work  were  to  proceed  abroad 
in  geometrical  progression,  we  need  not  be  apprehensive  lest  the 
churches  should  languish  at  home.  The  thought  is  not  to  be  en- 
tertained for  a  moment,  that  obedience  to  the  great  injunction  of 
our  Saviour,  which  was  given  immediately  before  his  ascension, 
would  diminish  our  spiritual  privileges,  or  bring  upon  our  Christian 

*  An  appeal  to  the  patrons  of  the  Board,  oa  the  state  of  the  Treasury,  was  prepared 
by  Mr.  Evarts,  and  pubUshed  in  the  Missionary  Herald  of  February.  In  April  he  wrote 
to  one  of  the  missionaries,  that  that  appeal  had  produced  "  an  effect  allogether  favor- 
able, and  more  immediate  and  perceptil)le,  than  any  other  publication  ever  made  by 
the  Board."  The  appeal  was  little  more  than  a  brief  statement  of  the  condition  of  the 
Treasury,  and  of  the  actual  and  probable  consequences  to  the  missions  of  continued 
embarrassment. 

20 


J  54  LIFE   OF   EVARTS. 

community  his  displeasure.  In  regard  to  the  past,  the  matter  of 
fact  is  apparent.  Never  before  were  half  so  many  young  men  in 
a  course  of  education  for  the  ministry'  among  ourselves,  as  at  the 
present  time  ;  and  it  may  be  safely  asserted,  that  hundreds  of  these 
young  men  were  first  led  to  think  of  becoming  preachers  of  the 
gospel  by  the  interest  which  they  felt  in  missions  to  the  heathen, 
and  by  the  eflect  of  these  missions  in  exposing  the  wants  and 
miseries  of  the  greater  part  of  the  world,  dead  in  sin,  without  God 
and  without  hope.  Facts  of  a  similar  character  have  recently  ex- 
isted in  Great  Britain,  and  on  the  continent  of  Europe.  The  at- 
tempt to  send  salvation  to  remote  pagans  has  proved  as  life  from 
the  dead  to  many  slnmbering  churches  ;  and  from  the  very  nature 
of  Christianity,  the  same  results  must  be  expected,  till  there  shall 
be  no  ignorance  abroad  to  be  enlightened,  and  no  lukewarmness 
at  home  from  which  professed  Christians  are  to  be  aroused.  Let 
it  ever  remain,  then,  fixed  and  settled  in  the  mind,  that  there  are 
in  our  country  young  men  enough  to  carry  forward  the  work  of 
missions  to  an  indefinite  extent ;  young  men  of  undoubted  piety, 
qualified  to  rank  high  in  their  several  callings,  as  evangelists,  pas- 
tors, founders  of  rising  churches,  translators  of  the  Bible,  directors 
of  the  press,  physicians,  magistrates  of  colonies  in  their  incipient 
state,  teachers  of  children  and  youth,  husbandmen,  mechanics  of 
every  useful  occupation,  and  seamen  of  every  class,  from  the  ex- 
perienced navigator,  who  can  guide  his  gallant  ship  in  unknown 
seas,  to  the  hardy  sailor,  who  is  willing  to  buffet  the  waves  of 
every  ocean,  and  run  the  hazard  of  every  climate.  Persons  of  all 
these  descriptions  stand  ready,  and  w^ait  only  for  the  word  from 
our  churches,  to  go  forth  into  all  lands,  and  proclaim  the  unsearch- 
able riches  of  Christ  to  the  ends  of  the  world. 

"If  the  inquiry  be  made,  whether  the  people  of  Ihe  United  States 
are  able  to  send  forth  such  a  number  of  missionaries  as  the  heath- 
en nations  seem  to  demand  from  us,  the  answer  must  be  in  the 
affirmative.  We  profess,  as  a  people,  to  receive  Christianity  ;  and 
it  is  not  common  to  hear  infidelity  openly  avowed.  A  great  multi- 
tude, scattered  throughout  our  extensive  empire,  profess  to  have 
evidence  of  a  personal  interest  m  the  promises  of  the  gospel ;  and 
this  multitude  embraces  many  individuals  of  great  wealth,  a  more 
numerous  class  who  possess  competent  fortunes,  and  a  class  still 
more  numerous,  composed  of  persons  who,  in  consequence  of 
their  activity  and  industry,  are  capable  of  imparting  a  continual 
and  powerful  impulse  to  any  beneficent  exertions  in  which  they 
should  be  generally  and  heartily  engaged.  Could  not  such  a 
Christian  community  achieve  wonders  in  the  work  of  benevolence, 
compared  with  which  all  that  the  world  has  yet  witnessed  would 
appear  small  and  unworthy  of  the  cause?  There  are  many  ways 
of  estimating  our  ability  as  a  people,  in  all  of  which  no  man  can 
avoid  coming  to  the  same  result,  namely,  that  the  process  of  en- 
lightening mankind  by  the  gospel  could  be  carried  on  by  us  to  an 
extent  which  should  leave  all  present  exertions  out  of  comparison 
and  out  of  remembrance.  When  it  is  considered  how  much  a  na- 
tion will  cheerfully  pay,  through  a  long  series  of  years,  to  support 


LIFE    OF   EVARTS.  I55 

a  war,  and  to  discharge  a  debt  imposed  by  war ;  when  the  millions 
annually  wasted  in  the  consumption  of  spirituous  liquors  are  com- 
puted; and  when  the  numerous  other  millions,  expended  in  the 
thousand  modifications  of  extravagance,  are  taken  into  the  esti- 
mate, to  what  an  astonishing  sum  would  the  whole  amount !  And 
how  would  it  change  the  moral  face  of  the  world,  if  brought  by 
the  willing  hands,  and  accompanied  by  the  fervent  prayers,  and 
applied  by  the  collected  wisdom  of  such  a  community  !  If  we 
take  as  a  rule  what  is  known  to  be  paid  for  this  great  object  by  a 
few  individuals  of  enlarged  benevolence,  and  su]ipose  the  same 
disposition  were  graciously  imparted  to  the  mass  of  professed 
Christians,  we  arrive  at  a  similar  conclusion.  What  an  awful 
picture  does  it  give  of  mankmd  to  reflect  that,  even  in  Christian 
countries,  it  should  be  thought  impossible  to  spend  as  much  for 
the  salvation  of  our  fellow-creatures,  as  is  freely  spent  to  effectuate 
their  destruction  !  How  strange  that  it  should  be  deemed  chimer- 
ical even  to  desire  that  one  tenth  part  as  much  should  be  appro- 
priated to  send  the  Bible  and  preachers  of  righteousness  among 
the  ignorant  and  destitute,  as  is  actually  spent  to  bring  intemper- 
ance, misery,  and  pauperism  among  ourselves  I 

"  One  of  the  first  effects  of  the  prevalence  of  Christianity  among 
a  people  who  had  hitherto  been  pagans  is,  that  they  make  great 
sacrifices  to  send  the  gospel  to  other  pagans.  Having  lately  es- 
caped from  the  bondage  of  Satan,  they  feel  the  greatness  of  their 
deliverance,  and  gladly  aid  in  breaking  off  the  manacles  by  which 
any  of  their  fellow-men  are  held.  If  the  highly  favored  Christians 
of  this  country  were  to  make  sacrifices  in  proportion  10  their  num- 
bers and  property,  as  the  newly  converted  South  Sea  Islanders 
have  done — or  the  Esquimaux  on  the  Labrador  coast — or  the  Hot- 
tentots of  South  Africa — or  the  negroes  at  Sierra  Leone, — a  rev- 
enue would  be  furnished  corresponding  with  the  magnitude  of  the 
cause,  and  the  claims  which  it  has  on  the  best  affections  of  the 
heart.  But  is  the  enlightened  Christian  of  Europe  or  America 
under  less  obligation  to  spread  the  gospel  than  the  converted  Es- 
quimaux or  Otaheitan?  And  why  should  he  wish  to  be  excused 
from  a  service  which  is  their  glory  and  their  joy  ?  a  service  more 
dignified  in  its  nature,  more  beneficent  in  its  aspect  on  mankind, 
and  more  acceptable  to  God,  than  any  other  service  performed  by 
men  since  the  creation  of  the  world. 

"  If  it  should  be  suggested  that  so  vast  an  increase  of  funds  as 
is  here  supposed,  would  render  the  concerns  of  the  Bible  and  mis- 
sionary societies  unwieldly  and  unmanageable,  on  account  of  their 
magnitude,  let  it  be  considered  that,  in  the  conduct  of  worldly 
afl^airs,  whenever  the  hearts  of  millions  are  set  upon  the  accom- 
plishment of  any  object,  the  work  does  not  stop  for  want  of  agents. 
The  immense  revenues  which  are  collected  for  war  do  not  fail  of 
application  from  this  cause.  The  opulent  merchant  can  find  fac- 
tors to  manage  his  hundreds  of  thousands  annually,  at  the  extrem- 
ity of  the  globe.  And  shall  it  be  said  that  a  vast  Christian  com- 
munity, embracing  in  its  limits  so  many  gentlemen  of  tried  charac- 
ter,  of  liberal   education,  of  professional  eminence,  of  practical 


156  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

knowledge,  of  unquestioned  piety,  cannot  bring  into  concentrated 
operation,  wisdom,  and  experience,  and  Christian  integrity  suffi- 
cient to  make  a  faithful  and  judicious  application  of  the  resources 
placed  at  their  disposal?  We  would  not  for  a  moment  forget  that 
no  missionary  work  can  prosper,  whatever  may  be  the  talents  and 
attainments  of  its  conductors,  unless  it  enjoy  the  favor  of  God. 
But  is  it  not  as  easy  for  God  to  provide  faithful  and  competent 
agents  at  home,  as  to  send  faithful  missionaries  abroad? 

"  And  here  the  Committee  would  earnestly  solicit  the  prayers  of 
the  members  of  this  Board,  and  of  all  who  contribute  to  its  funds 
or  desire  its  success,  and  of  all  who  love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in 
sincerity,  that  the  persons  who  shall  be  designated  at  this  meet- 
ing, or  at  any  future  time,  to  manage  its  growing  concerns,  may  be 
qualified  for  this  responsible  station  by  eminent  piety,  zeal,  indus- 
try, activity  and  disinterestedness.  Nor  do  we  deem  it  out  of 
place  to  suggest,  as  a  subject  of  continual  prayer  among  all  friends 
to  the  promulgation  of  the  gospel,  that  the  Lord  of  the  harvest 
would  select  such  laborers  as  He  will  approve,  and  especially  that 
the  higher  and  more  responsible  stations,  in  all  our  charitable  so- 
cieties of  a  religious  nature,  may  be  held  by  men  of  God,  desig- 
nated with  the  full  and  hearty  approbation  of  their  brethren;  men 
who  seek  not  the  offices,  directly  nor  indirectly,  but  are  sought 
for  the  offices  ;  men  whom  the  Saviour  will  honor,  by  making 
them  the  successful  instruments  of  his  mercy,  and  who  shall  se- 
cure, not  for  their  own  gratification  or  distinction,  but  for  the  suc- 
cess of  the  great  cause  in  which  they  are  embarked,  the  unhesi- 
tating, uninterrupted  confidence  of  the  churches  and  of  the  world 
around  them.  Whether  the  Committee  who  make  the  present 
Report  shall  have  any  further  agency  in  this  divine  work,  and 
what  that  agency  shall  be,  is  submitted  to  the  disposal  of  Provi- 
dence. The  work  itself  must  proceed,  however,  with  accelerated 
steps,  long  after  their  feeble  labors  on  earth  shall  have  ceased.  If 
any  good  shall  have  been  effected  by  their  instrumentality,  to  God 
would  they  unfeignedly  ascribe  all  the  praise  ;  and  most  sincerely 
would  they  pray  that  all  who  succeed  them  in  this  office  may 
greatly  surpass  them  in  every  requisite  qualification,  and  receive 
continual  tokens  of  the  divine  presence  and  blessing. 

"  It  is  to  be  always  remembered  that  the  standard  of  Christian 
exertion  is  not  to  be  taken  from  what  the  church  has  ever  done, 
except  in  the  apostolic  age,  nor  from  what  is  now  doing  in  any 
part  of  Christendom  ;  but  from  what  the  church  is  able  to  do,  what 
the  plainest  dictates  of  benevolence  require,  and  what  the  express 
command  of  Christ  enjoins.  In  reference  to  this  subject,  as  well 
as  many  others,  we  are  not  to  cotint  ourselves  to  have  attained,  but 
^xe  hownA.  x^ihex  to  press  fonvard.  Glorious  will  be  the  days,  and 
greatly  are  they  to  be  desired,  when  all  who  profess  to  be  disciples 
of  the  Saviour,  shall  put  forth  their  full  and  united  powers  to  ex- 
tend that  spiritual  kingdom,  which  shall  at  length  become  universal. 

"  The  design  of  converting  the  world  has  for  several  years  been 
distinctly  before  the  church.  The  indispensable  duty  of  promoting 
this  design  has  been  clearly  proved,  in  many  different  ways,  and 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  157 

with  irresistible  force.  The  proof  must  have  been  brought  home 
to  many  consciences,  and  taken  liold  of  many  hearts.  At  such  a 
period,  ignorance  cannot  be  pleaded  in  extenuation  of  indifference. 
No  person  ni  a  Christian  country,  endowed  with  common  intelh- 
gence,  can  with  propriety  be  ignorant  of  what  God  is  doing  for  his 
people,  and  of  what  he  has  promised  to  do.  Every  person  must 
therefore  be  responsible  for  the  part  he  takes,  or  neglects  to  take, 
in  this  great  business.  But  upon  those  who  possess  influence  in 
the  church  and  in  the  community,  a  peculiar  weight  of  responsi- 
bility rests. 

"  Ministers  of  the  gospel  have  it  in  their  power  to  do  more  than 
any  other  class  of  persons  in  aid  of  this  cause  ;  the  same  cause 
indeed,  to  which  they  have,  in  a  peculiar  sense,  devoted  their  tal- 
ents and  their  lives.  If  the  clergy  do  not  kindle  into  animated  and 
zealous  exertions  at  the  prospect  of  bringing  new  trophies  to  the 
foot  of  the  cross,  how  can  it  be  expected  that  their  people  shall 
become  possessed  of  missionary  ardor  ?  What  can  be  more  con- 
sonant with  the  office  of  faithful  preachers,  than  a  systematic  and 
vigorous  course  of  labors,  to  send  forth  men  of  like  faithfulness 
into  every  land  ?  What  can  more  clearly  show  the  benign  ten- 
dency of  the  religion  which  is  preached,  than  well  directed  efforts 
to  make  its  blessings  co-extensive  with  the  human  race  ?  What 
can  operate  more  powerfully  to  raise  the  tone  of  piety  and  the 
standard  of  Christian  charity,  than  the  united  and  concentrated 
action  of  those  who  are  set  for  the  defence  of  the  gospel,  and 
who  apply  to  the  promulgation  of  the  gospel  all  the  advantages 
which  God  has  put  into  their  hands. 

"  No  truth  is  more  forcibly  exhibited  in  Scripture,  than  our  strict 
accountability  for  all  the  talents  committed  to  us ;  and  for  the  use 
of  no  talent  can  men  be  more  responsible,  than  for  the  influence 
which  they  may  be  capable  of  exerting,  in  consequence  of  occu- 
pying a  public  station  to  which  Divine  Providence  may  have  called 
them  for  the  highest  and  noblest  purposes.  How  cheering  the 
thought  that,  while  a  minister  in  a  Christian  land  is  preparing  for 
heaven  the  immortal  beings  committed  to  his  charge,  he  may  be 
exciting  them  to  aid  in  conferring  spiritual  blessings  upon  other 
immortals,  the  inhabitants  of  a  distant  continent  or  island — thus 
putting  in  operation  a  series  of  beneficent  causes,  the  effects  of 
which  shall  never  have  an  end ;  and  thus  laying  a  foundation  for 
eternal  gratitude  and  praise,  that  they  were  the  voluntary,  though 
feeble  and  unworthy  instruments  of  contributing  to  so  glorious  a 
consummation.  How  delightful  the  anticipation  of  meeting,  in 
the  new  Jerusalem,  redeemed  sinners  from  different  and  remote 
parts  of  the  world,  proclaiming  their  obligations  to  the  same  benev- 
olent agency,  which  was  not  only  the  means  of  eternal  life  to 
many  within  the  sphere  of  its  direct  operation,  but  was  extended 
to  many  others,  of  whom  nothing  was  known  but  their  need  of 
the  gospel ? 

"  While  a  peculiar  and  most  delightful  agency  is  assigned  to  the 
clergy,  in  the  great  work  to  which  they  are  here  called,  all  other 
persons  of  influence  in  the  church  are  also  urged,  by  the  most 


158 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 


powerful  considerations,  to  co-operate  for  the  promotion  of  the 
same  glorious  design.  Let  those  who,  by  a  long  life  of  consistent 
Christian  example,  have  obtained  the  reputation  of  fathers  and 
mothers  in  Israel,  take  peculiar  pleasure  in  giving  their  dying  tes- 
timony and  their  last  labors  to  this  cause.  Thus  will  their  setting 
sun  go  down  with  a  mild  and  heavenly  radiance,  and  cast  its  vivi- 
fying beams  upon  the  generation  that  is  to  follow.  The  yoimg 
Christian  whose  heart  is  set  upon  the  greatest,  the  most  desirable, 
and  the  most  permanent  objects,  has  a  path  of  true  glory  open  be- 
fore him.  Can  his  ardent  and  vigorous  mind  need  an  exhortation  ? 
Will  he  not  anticipate  more  than  the  occasion  would  permit  to  be 
said  ?  Let  him  consult  his  Bible,  his  conscience,  and  cast  his  eye 
forward  to  the  judgment  day,  and  he  will  not  hnger  or  hesitate. 


CHAPTER   V. 


CORRESPONDING    SECRETARY.     1821—1824. 


At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Board  in  September,  1821,  it  of 
course  became  necessary  to  make  more  definite  arrangements  in 
regard  to  the  offices  of  Corresponding  Secretary  and  Treasurer. 
For  nearly  a  year,  Mr.  Evarts  had  discharged  the  duties  of  both. 
His  remarkable  qualifications  as  Treasurer  were  so  well  known  to 
the  Board  and  to  the  public,  and  he  was  so  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  everything  relating  to  that  department,  that  the  question  of 
his  removal  to  another  sphere  of  duty  was  reluctantly  entertained. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  seen)ed  equally  difficult  to  supply  adequate- 
ly, by  the  election  of  a  new  officer,  the  place  left  vacant  by  the 
death  of  Dr.  Worcester.  It  was  finally  concluded,  as  the  arrange- 
ment for  a  single  year,  that  he  should  fill  both  offices  ;  and  he  was 
elected  accordingly. 

Assistants  were  employed  in  both  departments  ;  but  his  labors, 
as  the  only  man  familiar  with  the  duties  of  either,  were  necessarily 
unremitted  and  severe.  "  We  feel  the  loss  of  Dr.  Worcester,"— 
said  he  the  next  winter — "  more  and  more.  Do  not  cease  to  pray 
that  God  will  raise  up  faithful  agents  to  carry  on  his  glorious  work 
of  salvation  among  the  heathen, — faithful  agents  to  manage  the 
concerns  at  home,  as  well  as  to  preach  abroad."  The  intelligence 
from  the  Sandwich  Islands  encouraged  the  enlargement  of  the  mis- 
sion,  and  had  a  remarkable  effect  on  the  public  mind.     Offers  of 


160  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

service  as  missionaries  and  assistants,  to  join  that  mission,  multi- 
plied beyond  all  precedent  in  our  country  ;  and  the  correspondence 
which  these  applications  required,  and  the  investigations  necessary 
to  secure  the  services  of  the  best  men  and  guard  the  mission  from 
the  unworthy  and  the  unqualified,  were  duties  equally  arduous  and 
delicate.  As  many  as  eight  or  ten  unmarried  females  of  excellent 
character  were  among  the  applicants.  The  number  to  be  sent  out 
was  large,  and  upon  the  proper  selection  of  the  company  would 
depend,  so  far  as  human  agency  could  determine  the  result,  the 
success  of  the  mission  and  the  future  character  and  well  being  of 
a  whole  people. 

The  circulation  of  the  Missionary  Herald  was  another  object  of 
deep  interest  to  him  at  this  time.  "  Your  agency" — he  writes  to 
Rev.  William  Goodell,  in  October — "  will  be  productive  of  great 
good,  by  producing  a  call  for  religious  intelligence,  and  promoting 
the  circulation  of  the  Herald. 

"  As  to  the  profits  of  the  work,  experience  alone  will  enable  us 
to  form  correct  estimates.  A  most  respectable  committee  is  ap- 
pointed to  examine  into  the  profits,  and  appropriate  them.  In  re- 
gard to  our  publication,  I  think  it  may  safely  be  said,  that  not  a 
missionary  institution  in  the  world  circulates  its  intelligence  at  so 
little  expense,  and  so  advantageously,  as  our  Board.  We  print 
seven  thousand  copies,  and  hope  next  year  to  print  more  than  ten 
thousand. 

"  The  Church  Missionary  Society  in  Great  Britain, ^a  society 
conducted  with  distinguished  ability,  pays  out  of  its  Treasury  for 
printing  the  Missionary  Register,  more  than  ^4,800  a  year  ;  and, 
in  the  year  ending  in  the  spring  of  1819,  that  Society  paid  more 
than  ,^15,000  for  its  various  publications,  and,  in  the  annual  re- 
port, congratulated  the  Society  on  the  good  success  of  that  expendi- 
ture. Although  our  Board  expended  last  year,  for  its  missionary 
operations,  nearly  half  as  much  as  the  Church  Missionary  Society, 
yet  we  paid  but  f|  1,558   10  for  printing  of  every  kind. 

"  It  is  probable  that  this  very  year  the  Church  Missionary  So- 
ciety pays  ^6,000  for  their  excellent  publication  distributed; 
while  our  Board  will  distribute  the  Herald  to  great  effect,  and  ac- 
tually derive  a  profit  from  it." 


LIFE   OF   EVARTS.  Igj 

Writing  a  few  months  after  to  a  friend,  he  remarks : 

"  There  is  no  one  thing  which  is  so  uniformly  pleasing  to  me 
as  the  circulation  of  the  Herald.  We  printed  ten  thousand  copies 
of  the  January  number,  and  found  that  we  should  want  more  be- 
fore the  close  of  the  year.  Of  the  February  number  we  printed 
fourteen  thousand,  and  shall  probably  keep  up  twelve  thousand  in 
future  months.  The  only  reason  why  we  do  not  print  fourteen 
thousand  through  the  year  is  the  crowded  state  of  the  mails,  and 
our  fears  tiiat,  if  we  push  the  circulation,  we  shall  endanger  the 
privilege  of  sending  any  by  mail,  as  post-masters  have  a  large  dis- 
cretionary power  on  this  subject." 

The  circulation  of  the  Herald  has  increased  very  much  since 
this  lime  ;  but  never  has  it  been  extended  with  the   like  rapidity. 

The  health  of  Mr.  Evarts  had  been  for  some  lime  remarkably 
good.  January  18th,  1822,  he  says,  "  Since  IMay,  1820,  I  have 
not  lost  a  day  by  ill  health.  I  am  generally  able  to  be  employed 
without  weariness  to  nine  or  ten  in  the  evening  ;  and  sometimes 
later." 

But  these  anxieties  and  labors  were  too  unremitted  and  exhaust- 
ing. Early  in  March,  1822,  he  was  compelled  to  lay  them  aside 
entirely,  and  to  seek  relief,  for  the  second  time,  in  a  milder  cli- 
mate. The  plan  was  similar  to  that  of  1818.  He  took  passage 
on  the  3d  of  March  for  Savannah  ;  and  after  spending  a  few  weeks 
there  and  in  the  vicinity,  proceeded  across  the  country  to  the 
Indian  missions,  and  thence  home,  by  way  of  East  Tennessee  and 
Western  Virginia.     Extracts  from  his  journal  and  letters  follow  : 

"March  10.  Sabbath.  (At  sea.)  Spent  not  only  the  Sabbath, 
but  the  greater  part  of  the  voyage,  in  retired  meditation  and  con- 
templation. Neither  my  situation  nor  my  health  would  permit 
writing.  My  lungs  would  not  bear  much  speaking.  Reading  to 
profit  was  also  out  of  the  question.  I  would  humbly  hope,  how- 
ever, that  the  time  did  not  pass  altogether  without  improvement. 
If  I  have  gathered  any  new  motives  to  diligence  in  the  service  of 
my  Lord,  or  made  any  advances  in  the  divine  life,  to  God  be  the 
praise. 

"  12.  Mouth  of  the  Savannah.  I  have  made  these  slight  entries 
21 


163  LIFE  OF  EVARTS. 

to  refresh  my  memory  hereafter.  Things  of  more  importance  1 
have  not  time  and  strength  to  enter  in  a  suitable  manner.  Thanks 
be  rendered  to  my  Preserver." 

TO    A    MISSIONARY    IN     CEYLON. 

Savannah.  March  15,  1822. 

Providence  has  brought  me  hither  in  consequence  of  a  sudden 
weakness  of  the  lungs.  Symptoms  are  at  present  favorable,  and  1 
hope  to  resume  my  labors  before  long.  In  the  mean  time  I  desire 
to  submit  myself  to  the  will  of  my  Heavenly  Father.  To  his 
care  and  protection  I  commend  myself  and  the  cause  of  missions, 
and  all  who  are  engaged  in  the  good  work  of  the  Lord.  I  exhort 
you  to  diligence,  to  fidelity,  to  holiness.  You  have  had  bright 
dis|)lays  of  Christian  virtue  in  Mrs.  Poor  and  Mr.  Warren.  May 
these  be  sanctified  to  you  and  to  us.  I  am  forbidden  to  VkTite 
much. 

(Journal.)  Looking  a  little  into  books,  I  had  a  strong  sense  of 
the  excellence  and  desirableness  of  serving  God,  particularly  as 
an  author. 

17th.  Sabbath.  Rose  in  better  health  than  at  any  time  sinco 
1  left  Boston.  To  God  be  the  praise.  If  my  strength  should  be 
restored,  may  it  be  devoted  to  his  service.  In  the  morning,  and 
after  public  worship,  attended  the  Sabbath  School  ; — which  is 
well  conducted  here,  and  has  been  kept  up  with  great  regularity 
and  zeal  since  its  first  establishment  six  years  ago.  One  hundred 
and  thirty  children  present. 

Mr.  C.  related   to  me  the  following  facts,  respecting  the  death 
of  a  young   physician,  who  died   here   about  a  month    ago.     His 
age  was  twenty-six.     He  was  a  young  man   of  good  talents,  very 
au)iable   manners,  and    an   honest   disposition.      Being    attacked 
with  the  consumption,  he  came  hither  for  relief,  but  was  too  laie. 
On  a  certain  visit,  the  following  conversation  took  place,  which  I 
enter  by  way  of  dialogue,  for  the  sake  of  brevity. 
Dr.  B.     What  do  you  think  of  my  sickness? 
Mr.  C.     Do  you  want  my  plain,  honest  opinion  ? 
Dr.  B.     Yes,  1  do. 

Mr.  C.     You  cannot  recover;  but  may  live  three  weeks,  pei- 
haps  four. 


LIFE  OF  EVARTS.  163 

Dr.  B.  You  are  much  mistaken.  I  shall  get  well.  What 
makes  you  think  I  shall  not? 

Mr.  C.     I  have   known  so  many  similar  cases.      At   any  rate, 
you  may  suppose  1  am  right.     You  must  die  some  time,  or  other. 
Suppose  you  are  to  die  soon  :  are  you  prepared  to  hear  the  sum 
mons  ? 

Dr.  B.  Yes,  I  am  ready  to  die.  I  have  done  my  duty.  I 
have  labored  hard  and  faithfully  to  support  a  dependent  mother 
and  sisters.  This  I  consider  my  duty — all  that  God  can  require 
of  me. 

Mr.  C.  then  went  into  some  explanation  of  the  Gospel  plan — 
the  necessity  of  faith  in  Christ,  &c. 

Dr.  B.  replied,  that  when  he  was  at  Andover  Academy,  at 
about  the  age  of  eleven,  he  remembered  that  they  had  a  good 
deal  to  say  about  faith ;  but  he  hated  to  hear  of  it,  rarely  went 
to  church  afterwards,  and  paid  no  attention  to  religion. 

Either  at  this  visit,  or  a  subsequent  one,  Mr.  C.  asked  if  he  had 
a  Bible.  Dr.  B.  replied  in  the  negative  ;  but  for  three  days  he 
had  thought  of  sending  for  one.  He  had  not  mustered  courage  to 
do  so,  however,  as  he  supposed  the  people  would  laugh  at  him, 
that  a  person  so  likely  to  get  well  should  trouble  his  head  about 
such  subjects. 

Mr.  C.  immediately  sent  him  a  Bible  ;  and  on  calling  some 
days  afterwards,  found  he  had  been  reading  it  faithfully.  He  de- 
clared with  tears  that  he  had  prayed  earnestly  ;  that  he  felt  happy 
in  this  exercise  ;  that  he  found  the  Bible  contained  the  same  things 
which  he  had  heard  at  Andover  when  a  child  ;  that  these  things 
had  all  been  brought  to  his  mind  with  great  force  ;  that  he  thought 
much  better  of  Andover  teaching  than  he  had  been  accustomed 
to  do. 

This  was  the  last  time  Mr.  C.  could  see  him,  as  he  grew  weaker 
daily,  and  all  access  was  prohibited  by  the  physicians.  The  young 
man  died  soon  after. 

On  this  case,  three  remarks  are  obvious. 

1.  How  are  men  deceived  with  respect  to  the  issue  of  their 
own  sickness  !  Even  this  physician  thought  he  should  recover, 
when  he  was  on  the  very  verge  of  death,  with  a  pulmonary  con- 


164  LI^E  OF  EVARTS. 

sumption.     Let  me  be  admonished,  and  stand   daily  ready  for  the 
summons. 

2.  In  what  deplorable  ignorance,  as  to  religion,  are  many  of  the 
young  men  of  Boston,  in  the  liberal  professions. 

3.  The  possibility  that  early  lessons  of  piety  may  be  brought 
into  use  after  the  lapse  of  years,  should  induce  every  parent  and 
every  teacher,  to  imbue  the  minds  of  the  young  with  religious 
truth  as  much  as  possible. 

I  may  add,  that  this  faithfulness  on  the  part  of  Mr.  C.  should 
stimulate  me  to  be  faithful  in  every  similar  case.  On  visiting 
a  sick  man,  and  finding  him  accessible  to  religious  conversation,  it 
should  be  remembered  that  every  such  opportunity  may  be  the 
last  time. 

21.  In  the  afternoon  walked  to  a  prayer  meeting  of  ladies,  and 
spoke  on  missionary  subjects  from  three  to  five  minutes,  which  fa- 
tigued me  much  ;  though  my  voice  was  kept  quite  in  a  low  tone. 

31.  Sabbath.  The  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  was  ad- 
ministered. Mr.  Snodgrass  preached.  The  communicants  filled 
a  long  table  the  whole  length  of  the  great  aisle,  and  a  cross 
table  before  the  pulpit ;  besides  some  who  sat  in  pews.  Four 
persons  partook  of  the  sacrament  for  the  first  time — all  females. 

The  number  of  persons  at  public  worship  for  three  Sabbaths  in 
succession  is  about  half  as  great  as  in  Park-street  Church.  Not 
many  went  out  before  the  the  administration  of  the  sacrament. 

It  was  on  the  4th  of  April,  1802,  that  I  first  participated  in  this 
ordinance.  How  little  have  I  done  in  honor  of  my  Divine  Master 
within  twenty  years  1  How  much  have  I  sinned  1  How  little  evi- 
dence do  I  give  of  genuine  religion  !  How  infinite  the  mercy  that 
receives  me,  if  I  am  received  at  all ! 

This  morning  I  made  a  prayer  in  the  church,  and  did  not  feel 
any  ill  effects  from  it.  This  was  at  a  prayer  meeting  previous  to 
public  worship. 

April  1.  Attended  the  monthly  concert  in  the  evening,  and 
spoke  seventeen  minutes  in  a  low  and  measured  voice. 

2.  My  lungs  weak  in  consequence  of  speaking  last  evening ; 
but  I  have  reason  to  be  thankful  that  no  alarming  symptoms  ap- 
pear. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  165 


TO    THE     HON.    WILLIAM    REED. 

Dawfuskie,  near  Savannah,  April  4,  1822. 

I  have  been  gaining  strength  pretty  regularly  since  my  arrival 
here  ;  and,  if  no  unfavorable  circumstance  should  prevent,  I  shall 
probably  set  out  for  Augusta  next  week,  and  proceed  thence  on 
my  way  to  Braineid.  But  in  regard  to  this  plan  and  every  other, 
I  would  desire  a  filial  acquiescence  in  the  will  of  my  heavenly 
Father.  If  I  should  visit  Brainerd,  it  seems  desirable  that  I 
should  have  strength  and  wisdom  adequate  to  the  performance  of 
the  important  duties  which  will  there  devolve  upon  me.  For  this 
you  will  pray.  Our  concerns,  as  individuals,  if  viewed  in  con- 
nexion with  this  world  only,  cannot  be  of  much  importance  to 
ourselves  or  others.  Soon  they  will  all  be  forgotten.  But  when 
we  act  as  agents  of  the  church,  with  direct  reference  to  the  pro- 
mulgation of  the  Gospel,  our  measures  carry  with  them  a  great  re- 
sponsibilityj  and  are  followed  by  everlasting  consequences.  Perhaps 
in  no  point  of  view  are  the  present  operations  of  our  Board  so 
important,  as  with  reference  to  future  operations  of  the  same  kind, 
to  be  carried  forward  by  the  Christians  of  this  country.  Should 
Providence  frown  upon  our  Board,  and,  from  its  present  resources 
and  prospects,  should  it  be  brought  low,  the  result  could  hardly 
be  otherwise  than  disastrous  for  a  long  time  to  come.  So  at  least 
it  appears  to  us.  If  God  be  not  with  us,  all  our  plans  and  labors 
will  be  of  no  avail ;  but  if  he  has  a  work  to  be  accomplished  by 
our  poor  instrumentality,  he  can  enable  us  to  perform  it.  There 
are  no  views  but  these,  which  afford  me  any  comfort  in  regard  to 
missionary  concerns,  or  my  agency  in  them.  Were  it  not  for 
these  views,  I  should  long  ago,  if  my  own  heart  does  not  deceive 
me,  have  withdrawn  myself  from  all  participation  in  the  counsels 
and  exertions  of  the  Board. 

TO    THE    REV.    RUFUS    ANDERSON. 

Savannah,  April  9,  1822. 
I  am  particularly  pleased  with  the  Committee's  having  declined 
to  appropriate  the  name  Newell  to  Mr.  Williams's  station.     I  re- 
gretted much  before  the  receipt  of  your  letter,  that  I  had  HOt  the 


156  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

opportunity  of  expressing  my  views  to  the  Committee  on  the  sub- 
ject of  naming  places  after  our  own  officers  and  missionaries. 

That  your  own  heahh  is  preserved,  is  cause  of  gratitude. 
Though  very  desirous  that  the  concerns  of  the  Board  should  go  on 
well,  I  am  not  troubled  by  excessive  solicitude.  God  can  provide 
agents  for  every  part  of  his  own  work,  and  can  furnish  them  with 
the  various  qualifications,  and  sustain  them  under  the  most  arduous 
labors.  That  you  and  Mr.  Chamberlain*  may  be  enabled  to  bear 
the  burdens  laid  upon  you,  is  my  earnest  petition  to  the  throne  of 
grace. 

I  expect  to  set  out  for  Augusta  to-morrow  morning  in  a  sulkey. 
My  health  has  greatly  improved,  and  I  hope  to  reach  Brainerd  by 
the  last  of  this  month. 

While  at  Savannah  Mr.  Evarts  wrote  notices,  on  a  separate 
sheet,  respecting  the  condition  of  the  blacks  : 

March  17.     Mr. tells   me,   that   the    condition   of  the 

blacks  is  gradually  improving  here — that  many  of  the  children 
learn  to  read. 

Mr. tells  me  that  the  children  of  the   free  negroes  in 

Savannah  generally  attend  school — that  some  young  slaves  learn 
to  read — that  many  more  of  the  rising  generation,  than  of  their 
fathers,  will  know  letters. 

He  says  that  the  negroes  who  profess  religion,  rely  much  on 
dreams  &;c.  The  great  majority  are  Baptists.  The  Methodists 
are  more  strict  in  discipline  than  the  Baptists,  and  insist  on  more 
evidence  of  piety. 

March  23.  In  my  repeated  rides  I  have  seen  many  negroes. 
Those  on  the  plantations  near  Savannah,  appear  to  be  in  a  very 
abject  condition.  The  young  appear  cheerful — -the  aged  very 
miserable.  Their  poor  bodies  appear  to  be  worn  out  by  hard  ser- 
vice and  scanty  fare,  while  their  minds  are  in  perpetual  infancy — 
not  having  advanced  towards  enlarged  thought,  or  made  the  least 
progress  as  immortal  beings. 

*  Mr.  Levi  Chamberlain,  then  an  assistant  at  the  Missionary  Room!?  in  the  Treas- 
urer's department,  and  since  of  the  Sandwich  Island  Mission. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  iq'j 

Mr. says  that  the  negroes  on  the  islands  are  generally- 
through  their  tasks  by  two  o'clock — that  they  have  as  much  land 
as  they  can  till  for  their  own  use,  and  that  they  might  be  in  very 
comfortable  circumstances,  if  they  were  industrious.  Every  thing 
which  they  can  carry  to  market  is  sold  for  liquor. 

March  29.  In  one  of  my  excursions,  I  counted  twenty-five 
slaves  at  work  in  one  field.  The  females  have  the  same  task 
assigned  them  as  the  males.  The  clothing  of  almost  all  the  ne- 
groes out  of  town  is  very  wretched,  always  coarse  and  dirty, — 
generally  old  and  tattered. 

April  6.  I  have  just  returned  from  an  excursion  of  three  days, 
to  an  island  on  which  are  several  cotton  plantations.  The  situa- 
tion of  the  slaves  is  more  abject  and  degraded,  than  I  had  ever 
supposed.  I  refer  not  to  cruelty,  (of  which  instances  are  not 
lacking,)  but  to  that  incomparable  ignorance  which  must  exist,  of 
course,  where  there  is  a  total  want  of  instruction  of  every  kind ; 
where  there  is  no  thought  or  reflection  ;  and  where  every  germ  of 
enterprise  is  crushed  by  harsh  and  contemptuous  treatment.  Yet 
I  am  fully  convinced  that  there  are  no  difficulties  but  moral  ones, 
in  the  way  of  a  thorough  renovation  of  this  whole  southern  coun- 
try ;  and  these  God  can  remove  by  the  mild  and  gracious  opera- 
tions of  his  Providence,  whenever  he  sees  best.  Let  every  pos- 
sible means  be  used  by  his  children,  and  the  work  will  proceed. 
But  every  scheme  of  meliorating  the  condition  of  the  slaveholding 
country  without  the  aid  of  the  Gospel,  must  be  chimerical.  The 
first  step  in  the  progress  is,  to  get  a  competent  number  of  religious 
teachers,  who  will  cheerfully  and  heartily  devote  themselves  to  the 
work  ;  and  this  number  must  be  much  greater  than  has  ever  been 
estimated.  One  minister  of  the  Gospel  to  one  thousand  souls  is  by 
no  means  enough  ;  unless  the  deficiency  be  made  up  by  intelligent 
catechists.  It  is  greatly  to  be  desired  that  as  many  pious  young  L 
men,  natives  of  the  southern  states,  as  God  shall  endue  with  the 
requisite  qualifications,  may  be  employed  as  spiritual  teachers  of 
their  countrymen.  They  have  many  advantages  over  northern 
young  men  ;  as  they  are  able  to  bear  the  climate,  and  there  are 
fewer  prejudices  against  their  efforts.  But  in  the  present  state  of 
things,  how  are  these  young  men  to  be  prepared  for  the  work  ? 
How  are  the  rising  generation  to   become  religious  ?     The  means 


169  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

of  religion  are  not  enjoyed :  the  youth  are  tempted  in  a  thousand 
ways  to  a  life  of  idleness  and  sensuality. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  instruction  of  the  blacks  is  a  slow  process, 
and  requires  uncommon  disinterestedness,  and  patience,  and  self- 
denial.  Slill,  it  implies  no  impossibility.  If  all  Christians  would 
engage  in  the  work  of  renovating  every  part  of  our  own  country, 
they  would  find  that  God  would  interpose  in  their  behalf,  and  by 
new  methods  would  carry  forward  the  plans  of  infinite  benevo- 
lence. 

10.  Left  Savannah  in  my  sulkey.  Stopped  at  K.'s,  twenty- 
seven  miles.  As  one  of  the  younger  members  was  describing  the 
manner  in  which  he  had  been  accustomed  to  spend  the  Sabbath 
while  living  at  Savannah,  I  entered  into  conversation  with  him,  to 
inform  him  that  there  was  a  way  of  spending  the  Sabbath,  which 
would  afford  more  enjoyment  than  could  be  had  by  profane  dissi- 
pation. He  said  he  did  not  believe  it  to  be  possible  for  a  young 
man  to  be  religious.  In  this  opinion  a  young  traveller  from  Sa- 
vannah, of  gentlemanly  deportment,  agreed  with  him. 

The  first  observed,  however,  that  when  he  went  to  Savannah 
lately,  he  found,  to  his  astonishment,  that  all  his  old  companions 
in  drinking  and  frolicking  on  the  Sabbath  had,  to  use  his  own 
words,  "  become  Christians,  and  all  belonged  to  the  Methodist 
church."  He  added  that  as  soon  as  he  found  out  this  fact,  he 
left  them.     He  supposed,  however,  that  they  were  hypocrites. 

21.  (Sabbath,  at  Augusta.)  The  privileges  of  this  Sabbath 
have  been  precious,  I  trust,  to  me.  At  singing,  in  the  Baptist 
church,  I  was  unusually  affected  with  the  final  judgment,  which 
was  brought  to  view  in  the  second  hymn. 

22.  Left  Augusta.  Arrived  just  at  sunset  at  Mr.  S's.  Mr. 
S.  a  Methodist — his  shelves  loaded  with  religious  books,  princi- 
pally those  published  by  Methodists,  and  circulated  by  their 
preachers.  On  opening  their  Magazine  for  1820,  published  in 
New  York,  I  was  pleased  to  find  so  many  good  pieces — mixed, 
however,  with  others  which  I  could  not  approve.  The  circula- 
tion of  these  books  cannot  but  have  a  humanizing  and  christian- 
izing effect,  distributed  as  they  are  among  people  who  would  oth- 
erwise be  left  in  ignorance. 

26.     Athens.     Received  the  most  pleasing  accounts   of  the 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  jgg 

healthfulness  of  this  village.  No  case  of  indigenous  fever  was 
known  here  last  summer.  Not  a  death  has  occurred  in  the  col- 
lege by  fever  since  it  went  into  operation,  more  than  twenty  years 
ago.  Mr.  C,  (a  native  of  Brattleborough,  Vt.)  says  he  consid- 
ers this  place  as  healthy  during  summer  as  any  place  in  Vermont. 
The  ground  is  high  ;  the  soil  a  coarse  red  loamy  clay,  mixed 
with  hard  gravel.  It  acts  as  a  strainer,  and  is  perfectly  dry  in  a 
few  minutes  after  rain.  The  face  of  the  country  is  uneven,  con- 
siderably elevated  above  the  beds  of  the  two  branches  of  the 
Oconee,  between  which  the  village  is  situated. 

In  the  evening;  called  upon  Mrs.  N.,  a  widow,  who  has  often 
shown  kindness  to  the  missionaries.  She  came  into  this  country 
as  a  frontier  settler,  thirty-five  years  ago,  and  for  four  years  was 
obliged  occasionally  to  resort  to  forts  for  protection — had  a  sister 
killed  by  Indians,  within  hail  of  the  fort  where  herself  was.  The 
murder  was  most  barbarous.  Three  children  were  with  their 
mother ;  the  eldest  of  whom  the  Indians  scalped,  though  they 
did  not  kill  him.  The  two  others  were  left  unmolested.  The 
mother  was  returning  from  the  fort  to  her  house,  expecting  to 
meet  her  husband  on  the  road.  Mrs.  N.  says  the  terrors  of  the 
four  years'  exposure  are  beyond  description.  When  her  door  was 
shut,  she  dared  not  open  it,  for  fear  of  seeing  Indians  ;  and  when 
it  was  open,  she  dared  not  shut  it,  for  fear  Indians  would  approach 
unseen.  The  settlers  could  not  live  all  the  while  in  forts,  because 
they  must  gain  subsistence  from  the  land  ;  and  they  could  not  live 
all  the  while  on  their  farms,  without  imminent  danger  of  being 
murdered.  The  Indians  stole  their  horses,  cattle,  &;c.,  and  mur- 
dered unprotected  individuals.  After  outrages  of  this  kind,  they 
were  pursued,  and  generally  defended  themselves  at  the  expense 
of  some  life  among  the  white  men.  The  state  of  anxiety  in 
which  delicate  women  would  be  kept,  must  have  been  distressing. 
Mrs.  N.  added  that  such  were  formerly  her  feelings  respecting  the 
Indians,  that  she  did  not  think  any  good  could  be  done  to  them. 
After  visiting  Brainerd,  however,  about  two  or  three  years  ago, 
and  seeing  the  school  there,  she  experienced  an  entire  change  in 
her  feelings  on  this  subject. 

There  are  nearly  one  hundred  students  in  the  college  here,  un- 
der the  instruction  of  a  president,  three  professors,  and  a  tutor.     I 
22 


170  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

attended  prayers,  and  heard  one  of  the  youths  declaim.  There  is 
no  professor  of  religion  in  college,  though  one  or  two  students  are 
hopefully  pious. 

Dr.  Waddel  deeply  laments  the  evils  of  slavery.  If  he  could 
bear  the  climate  of  Ohio,  he  would  leave  the  slave  country  in  a 
few  months.  He  most  anxiously  desires  to  do  it.  He  does  not 
believe  that  religion  in  any  form,  certainly  not  in  the  Presbyterian 
form,  can  flourish  in  a  slave  country.  He  does  not  believe  that 
domestic  slaves  can  ever  generally  be  brought  to  receive  religious 
education.  They  are  generally  much  averse  to  attending  family 
prayers  ;  nd  to  any  religious  order.  Some  years  ago  he  and  the 
elders  of  his  church  in  South  Carolina  commenced  Sabbath 
schools.  They  were  broken  up,  however,  by  the  people,  who 
assembled  in  a  mob-like  manner,  and  dispersed  both  scholars  and 
teachers  ;  and  this,  although  they  set  out  upon  the  plan  of  teach- 
ing those  only  whose  masters  were  willing  they  should  learn. 

27.  I  am  convinced  that  Jackson  county,  where  I  now  am,  is 
as  healthy  as  any  place  in  the  United  States.  Mr.  M.  has  eleven 
children  ;  never  lost  a  child,  nor  had  one  sick  a  week.  He  has 
lived  in  this  place  twenty-one  years,  having  lived  in  Hancock 
county  ten  years  previously.  The  heat  of  summer  is  greatly  mit- 
igated by  a  pleasant  breeze  from  the  south-west,  which  generally 
blows  from  ten  to  three.  The  nights  are  always  cool.  The 
water  from  springs  is  pure,  cool  enough,  and  delicious  to  the  taste. 
Fevers  are  almost  unknown.  There  is  no  sickly  season.  The 
summer  is  more  healthy  than  the  winter  when  there  are  some 
pleurisies. 

As  I  was  riding,  I  thought  much  of  the  solemn  and  arduous 
duties  which  will  devolve  upon  me  at  Brainerd,  should  the  Lord 
bring  me  thither,  and  afford  me  bodily  strength  to  make  a  thor- 
ough inspection  of  the  mission.  May  He  give  me  wisdom  to 
discharge  these  duties  aright. 

28.  Sabbath.  In  this  retirement,  spent  the  forenoon  in  read- 
ing the  Bible,  Scoit's  Observations,  the  llih  and  12th  chapters  of 
Baxter's  Saint's  Rest,  and  some  religious  intelligence,  with  inter- 
mediate meditation  and  reflection.  How  inestimably  important  is 
the  Sabbath,  even  when  public  worship  cannot  be  enjoyed  !  Still, 
such  are  the  deadness  and  coldness  of  the  human  heart,  that  it  is 


LIFE    OF   EVARTS.  171 

prone  to  grow  idle  and  stupid,  even  it  have  experienced    religion, 
where  the  regular  ordinances  of  God's  house  are  not  attended. 

29.  Mr.  M.,  where  I  staid  over  the  Sahhaih,  appears  to  live 
with  as  few  ungratified  desires  as  any  man  within  my  knowledge. 
In  a  humble  fartn-house,  clothed  with  the  manufactures  of  his 
own  family,  surrounded  by  the  many  acres  under  his  own  cultiva- 
tion, and  by  his  own  herds,  wiihout  a  neighbor  in  sight,  but  with 
his  children  settled  within  a  moderate  distance,  keeping  an  open 
house  for  strangers,  especially  for  religious  persons,  many  of  whom 
come  that  way  to  see  him ;  having  abundance  of  leisure,  and  be- 
ing somewhat  engaged  in  public  employments,  he  is  more  truly 
independent  than  the  rich  planter,  or  the  richer  nobleman. 

30.  Blackburn's.  B.  tells  me  that  the  Cherokees  are  increas- 
ing in  numbers  very  fast — much  faster  than  ever  before. 

I  found  with  him  an  elderly  man,  now  an  inhabitant  of  Ala- 
bama, formerly  of  Georgia,  who  made  the  first  settlement  at 
Blackburn's  place,  about  twenty  years  ago,  and  kept  store  here 
till  1813,  when  his  partner  died,  and  he  removed.  The  design  of 
this  preface  is  to  show  how  well  he  must  be  acquainted  with  the 
nation,  he  having  visited  every  village  in  it.  He  assisted  the  com- 
missioners in  laying  out  what  is  called  the  Federal  Road,  eighteen 
or  nineteen  years  ago,  piloting  them  on  the  course  where  it  now 
runs.  He  says  the  progress  which  the  natives  make  in  farming 
and  domestic  manufactures  is  surprising  ;  that  you  will  rarely  find 
a  Cherokee  in  his  ancient  dress  ;  that  many  have  become  labori- 
ous farmers  since  they  were  men,  and  were  as  much  attached  to 
Indian  habits  as  men  could  be.  He  told  me  of  one  particularly, 
whom  he  at  first  encouraged  himself,  and  who  was  then  worth 
nothing  but  a  little  stock,  "  and  a  chunk  or  two  of  a  poney  ;  " 
but  now  plants  more  than  two  hundred  acres  of  corn. 

May  1.     Reached  Mr.  Hall's  station  at  Taloney.  ' 

TO    EEV.    R.    ANDERSON. 

Aug-usta,  April  17. 

In  regard  to  my  writing  letters  from  Brainerd  for  publication,  it 
must  depend  upon  circumstances.  No  species  of  composition 
requires  so  much  care.  In  stating  facts,  much  caution  must 
be  used,   that  no  more   than    the   simple  verity  should   be   com- 


l-Yg  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

municated  or  understood  ;  and  the  whole  should  be  compared  and 
revised  with  particular  attention.  I  shall  not  spend  more  than  a 
fortnight  at  Brainerd,  if  I  can  get  through  the  business  in  that 
time  ;  and  I  shall,  of  course,  be  incessantly  occupied  while  there. 
However,  if  I  can  do  any  thing  to  promote  the  cause  by  writing 
for  publication,  I  shall  do  it. 

These  consultations  resulted  in  remodelling  entirely  the  mission 
to  the  Cherokees.  The  establishment  at  Brainerd  was  found  too 
large  to  be  conducted  advantageously  ;  and  it  was  determined  to 
make  various  changes,  by  which  the  number  of  residents  there 
was  reduced  about  one  half,  and  the  direct  influence  of  the  mis- 
sion diffused  more  extensively  in  the  nation. 

TO    REV.    R.    ANDERSON. 

Talony,  May  2, 1822. 

I  think  it  not  best  to  communicate  any  thing  for  publication 
now.  As  I  approach  Brainerd,  I  feel  very  deeply  the  responsibil- 
ity which  rests  upon  me  during  my  present  visit.  The  Com- 
mittee, I  doubt  not,  sympathize  with  me  in  this  respect.  Every 
year's  experience  convinces  me  that  great  wisdom,  as  well  as  zeal 
and  diligence,  is  necessary  to  carry  on  any  mission  with  effect. 

I  have  reason  to  be  thankful  that  my  health  continues  to  im- 
prove. This  is  a  very  pleasant  time  of  the  year ;  but  it  is  some- 
what oppressive  riding  in  the  sun,  when  the  thermometer  is  eighty- 
two  or  eighty-three  in  the  coolest  shade  that  can  be  found. 

I  have  nothing  of  importance  to  say,  with  respect  to  the  state 
of  religion  in  the  southern  country  through  which  I  have  pa.ssed. 
It  is  a  dreary  and  desolate  region  in  this  respect ;  and  I  see  not 
how  it  is  to  be  different,  unless  God  sees  fit  to  employ  a  different 
system  of  agency  from  any  that  is  now  in  operation.  This  he 
can  do ;  but  he  will  be  inquired  of  by  his  people  to  do  it  for 
them. 

TO    REV.    E.    CORNELIUS. 

Knoxville,  May  2S,  1822. 

I  Staid  at  Brainerd  seventeen  days,  and  was  never  more  busy 
for  an  equal  time  in  my  life.  From  day-break  till  ten  or  eleven 
o'clock  at  night,  I  was  employed  (with  the  exception  of  a  single 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  I73 

evening,  when  I  had  a  severe  tooth-ache)  in  the  various  business 
of  the  Cherokee  and  Choctaw  missions.  The  business  consisted  < 
of  obtaining  information  and  committing  it  to  writing  ; — inspecting 
the  various  departments  of  this  mission  ; — attending  to  the  vari- 
ous exercises  ; — holding  consuhations  with  the  brethren  on  various 
subjects  ; — answering  a  multitude  of  questions  ; — visiting  some 
individuals,  whose  favor  was  of  importance  to  the  mission  ; — 
and  in  going  through  with  the  whole  Choctaw  business  with 
Mr.  Kingsbury,  and  giving  him  written  answers  to  all  the  ques- 
tions which  he  thought  it  necessary  to  propose. 

It  would  have  given  us  great  pleasure  to  have  conferred  with 
you.  All  the  circumstances  of  our  former  journey  and  visit  were 
fresh  in  my  mind.  Incidents  were  all  the  while  occurring,  which 
brought  to  my  recollection  things  that  were  said  and  done  when 
we  were  together. 

There  is  one  remarkable  fact,  on  comparing  my  late  visit  with 
my  former  one,  which  you  would  not  be  prepared  to  expect.  It 
is  this :  I  cannot  find  that  a  single  person  whom  we  saw  at 
Brainerd,  young  or  old,  white,  red,  or  black,  has  died  during  this 
long  interval.  This  is  certainly  an  uncommon  preservation  of  so 
many  individuals,  engaged  in  so  different  employments,  and  so  re- 
mote from  each  other.  Since  1  have  been  writing  this,  it  has 
occurred  to  me,  that  ToUontiskee,  who  just  called  in  passing,  is 
no  more.  He  died,  as  you  know,  near  St.  Louis.  If  we  examine, 
my  dear  friend  we  shall  find  that  we  have  not  done  as  much  for 
the  cause  of  Christ  within  the  period  referred  to,  as  we  ought  to 
have  done.  Our  time  of  labor  may  be  very  short.  Let  our  power  be 
the  only  limit  of  our  exertions.  Who  would  have  thought,  when 
we  separated  from  the  mission  family  in  May,  1818,  and  from  Mr. 
Williams  and  Mr.  Kingsbury,  that  we  should  all  be  alive  in  May, 
1822,  and  that  Dr.  Worcester's  remains  would  be  deposited  at 
Brainerd  ?    Yet  such  is  the  Providence  of  God. 

You  can  easily  conceive  many  of  my  sad  reflections,  on  stand- 
ing by  the  grave  of  that  great  man.  Not  a  week  has  passed,  I 
presume,  and  scarcely  a  day,  since  I  heard  of  his  death,  without 
some  case  occurring,  in  regard  to  which  it  would  have  been  a  high 
gratification  to  consult  whh  him. 

Mr.  Kingsbury  arrived  at  Brainerd  the  day  before  me,  and  set 


j-y^  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

out  on  his  return  the  day  before  1  came  away.  His  health  is  ap- 
parently as  good  as  when  you  last  saw  him.  He  is  the  same  man 
as  heretofore.  The  same  benevolent  smile  lights  up  his  counten- 
ance ;  the  same  tender  regard  to  the  welfare  of  all  these  missions 
is  manifest  in  his  remarks  ;  the  same  candor  in  acknowledging 
errors  in  judgment ;  the  same  mild  and  amiable  disposition  to 
apologize  for  the  errors  of  others;  the  same,  wakeful  solicitude,  the 
same  readiness  to  assume  care  and  labor,  and  the  same  willingness 
to  wear  out,  if  necessary,  in  performing  the  humblest  duties  ; — in 
short,  the  same  missionary  character  was  continually  apparent. 
We  separated  on  Monday  the  20th,  in  the  road  which  passes  over 
the  Lookout  mountain,  at  the  highest  place,  where  we  had  a  view 
of  the  Tennessee  and  the  hills  beyond  it.  It  was  a  very  affecting 
occasion.  Should  I  never  see  the  good  man  again,  I  shall  greatly 
rejoice  in  our  late  meeting. 

At  Knoxville  he  wrote  also  a  letter  to  his  associates,  a  few 
paragraphs  of  which  follow  : 

"  Since  the  commencement  of  the  present  month  1  have  vished 
Brainerd,  and  spent  more  than  a  fortnight  there  in  attending  to 
the  concerns  of  that  establishment ;  and,  in  conjunction  with  Mr. 
Kingsbury,  to  the  concerns  of  the  Choctaw  mission. 

"  I  hope  to  lay  before  the  Committee,  in  person,  the  information 
collected  on  the  spot,  the  measures  already  adopted,  or  proposed 
for  adoption  hereafter,  and  every  thing,  so  far  as  I  shall  be  able, 
which  is  likely  to  have  any  material  bearing  upon  the  success  of 
the  mission. 

"  When  I  arrived  in  the  upper  counties  of  Georgia,  I  endeavored 
to  obtain  a  suitable  companion,  before  entering  upon  the  Indian  ter- 
ritory ;  partly  because  my  health  was  not  robust,  but  more,  because 
my  friends,  both  at  the  north  and  the  south,  had  urged  the  measure 
upon  me.  Several  clergymen  and  others,  to  whom  I  proposed  the 
subject,  were  desirous  of  visiting  Brainerd,  and  expressed  a  strong 
wish  to  accompany  me  ;  but  their  engagements  would  not  permit. 
Thinking  it  unnecessary  to  delay  my  journey  for  the  sake  of  com- 
pany, I  proceeded  alone.  Leaving  the  hospitable  dwelling  of  Mr. 
Montgomery,  in  Jackson  county,  on  Monday  the  29th  of  April,  I 


LIFE   OF   EVARTS.  I75 

rode  to  the  Chatahoochy,  which  is  the  boundary  of  lands  still  re- 
tained by  the  Cherokees.  Early  the  next  day,  crossing  the  ferry,  I 
had  a  pleasant  ride  in  the  wilderness,  the  fields  of  the  few  inhabitants 
on  the  road  occupying  but  a  small  part  of  the  way.  Before  noon, 
on  the  first  of  May,  1  reached  Taloney,  and  found  Mr.  Hall,  Mr. 
Parker,  and  their  families,  in  comfortable  circumstances.  This 
station  is  forty-six  miles  from  the  Chatahoochy,  and  sixty-two  from 
Brainerd,  on  what  is  called  the  Federal  Road.  It  is  near  a  small 
river,  called  Talking  Rock  creek,  and  five  miles  from  the  Chero- 
kee town  of  Taloney,  which  lies  ofl'  from  the  road,  in  a  north- 
easterly direction.  I  rested  here  till  after  breakfast  on  the  3rd, 
and  then  set  out  with  Mr.  Hall  for  Brainerd.  The  intervening 
time  was  spent  in  examining  into  the  affairs  of  the  station.  I  can- 
not enter  into  details  here  ;  but  would  say,  in  general,  that  most 
gratifying  evidence  of  the  beneficial  tendency  and  good  effects  of 
local  schools  was   very  apparent. 

"At  evening  we  reached  Springplace,  and  were  kindly  received 
by  Mr.  Smith,  the  Moravian  missionary,  and  by  his  family.  The 
venerable  Mr.  Gambold  removed  some  time  since  to  a  new  station, 
called  Oogh-gee-lo-gy ;  near  which  place  the  greater  part  of  the 
converts  under  his  ministry  reside.  I  regretted  very  much  that  I 
was  not  able  to  see  this  faithful  missionary,  in  whose  company, 
while  on  my  former  journey,  I  spent  one  of  the  happiest  days  of 
my  life,  and  for  -a horn  the  friends  of  missions,  universally,  so  far 
as  they  know  his  character,  feel  a  sincere  respect  and  cordial  af- 
fection. 

*'  On  Saturday  evening  at  half  past  nine,  we  arrived  at  Brainerd, 
having  been  delayed  partly  by  the  heat  and  partly  by  other  causes. 
All  was  still.  As  we  passed  the  burying-ground,  on  our  way  to 
the  mission-house,  we  stopped  and  looked  awhile  upon  the  grave 
of  Dr.  Worcester.  The  light  of  the  full  moon,  though  obscured 
by  clouds,  enabled  us  to  distinguish  the  place.  The  reflections 
which  would  naturally  arise  in  the  mind  at  such  a  lime,  you,  who 
knew  the  man  and  the  circumstances  of  his  death,  and  the  nature 
of  the  union  which  had  subsisted  between  us,  can  easily  conceive. 

"  We  found  the  mission  family  in  usual  health.  But  iew 
Cherokee  children  were  there,  the  spring  vacation  not  having  ex- 
pired till  the  following  Tuesday.     Mr.  Kingsbury  had  anived  to 


176  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

meet  me,  by  direction  of  the  Committee,  the  day  before.  He  was 
accompanied  by  Mr.  Goodell,  who  had  visited  Elliot  and  Mayhew, 
having  made  an  excursion  from  the  route  of  his  agency  for  that 
purpose.  During  my  stay  at  Brainerd,  my  time  was  much  occu- 
'pied,  as  you  may  well  suppose,  by  a  great  variety  of  subjects, 
which  demanded  attention.  Mr.  Kingsbury  set  out  on  his  return 
the  20th  inst.,  and  Mr.  Goodell  and  myself  came  away  the  next 
morning. 

"At  this  season  of  the  year,  it  was  very  pleasant  travelling.  The 
waters  had  subsided,  so  that  there  was  no  serious  difficulty  in  ford- 
ing them  ;  though  a  (ew  days  before,  the  more  rapid  streams  were 
impassable,  and  others  could  only  be  crossed  by  swimming.     Sev- 
eral  travellers  whom   I  met  had   been   detained   by   high  water. 
The  forest,  though   generally  the  trees  are   not   thick,  afforded  a 
grateful  shelter  from   the   rays  of  the   sun.      The  herbage    and 
flowers  were  in  their  most  beautiful  state,  having  all  the  freshness 
of  spring,  and  beginning  to  show  the  luxuriance   of  summer.     I 
I  am  told,  however,  that   flowers  in  variety  and  abundance  are  to 
be  seen  in  the  woods  here,  from  the  first  of  March  to  the  first  of 
December.     The  long  solitudes  were  peculiarly  agreeable  ;  in  one 
instance  it  being  fourteen  miles  from   one  house  to  another  ;  and, 
in  three  other  instances,  ten,  eleven,  and  twelve  miles.     The  road 
from  Augusta  to  Nashville  has  been  a  good  deal  travelled  since  it 
was  opened   through  the  Cherokee   nation,  eighteen   years  ago  ; 
though  in  former  years  much  more  than  at  present.     It  has  been 
quite  an  object,  therefore,  with   several  white  men   who  were  set- 
tled here,  and  several  natives  of  the  country,  to  furnish  food  and 
shelter  to  travellers.     I   observed   that  these  establishments  were 
improving,  in  regard  to  buildings,  furniture,  and  other  things.     In 
two  of  these  houses  of  entertainment,  I  found  young  females,  (that 
is,  one  in  each,)  who  had  been  members  of  the  school  at  Brainerd. 
Their   appearance   was   neat,   becoming,   and  such    as  would  be 
thought  respectable   at   the   house  of  an  inn-keeper  among  our- 
selves.    One  of  them  I    remembered   having   seen  in  the  mission 
family  ;  and  Mr.  Hall  was  of  course   well   known   to   her.     Sup- 
posing that  we  should  need  refreshment,  she  provided  tea  unasked, 
and  waited  upon  us  in  a  manner  creditable  to  her  hospitality  and 
her  education.     Several  useful  books  stood  upon  a  shelf,  and  she 


LIFE    OF   EVARTS.  177 

said,    in    answer    to    my   inquiry,    that    she   was  very    fond    of 
speaking. 

"  It  is  very  evident  that  the  Cherokees  are  improving  more  < 
rapidly  at  present,  than  at  any  previous  time.  There  are  more 
instances  of  laborious  industry  among  them  every  returning  year. 
There  are  more  instances  of  serious  inquiry  after  moral  and  reli- 
gious truth.  There  is  an  increasing  conviction,  that  many  of  the 
whites  sincerely  wish  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  Indians.  The 
best  informed  and  more  intelligent  Cherokees  are  very  favorably 
disposed  towards  the  mission  and  school  at  Brainerd.  At 
several  places  in  the  nation  is  found  an  earnest  desire  to  have  vil- 
lage schools,  with  regular  preaching  ;  and  there  is  nothing  to 
prevent  the  establishment  of  these,  except  what  results  from  the 
want  of  pecuniary  means,  and  of  interpreters.  It  is  hoped  that 
the  deficiency,  in  both  these  respects,  will  be  removed  to  such  an 
extent,  that  the  present  generation  may  have  lights  kindled  in  all 
their  borders  and  that  generations  to  come  may  be  saved  from 
the  darkness  and  wretchedness  of  their  fathers. 

"  It  used  to  be  said,  a  few  years  since,  with  the  greatest  confi- 
dence, and  is  sometimes  repeated  even  now,  that  Indians  can 
never  acquire  the  habit  of  labor.  Facts  abundantly  disprove  this 
opinion.  There  are  numerous  instances  among  the  Cherokees,  of 
very  laborious  and  long  continued  industry  ;  and,  in  some  of  these 
instances,  the  habit  has  commenced  and  become  established  after 
the  individuals  had  grown  up  in  hereditary  freedom  from  any  thing 
like  regular  labor.  In  more  instances,  the  habit  commenced  in 
youth,  and  is  confirmed  by  practice.  Some  Indians,  not  only  pro- 
vide an  abundant  supply  of  food  for  their  families,  by  the  labor  of 
their  own  hands,  but  have  a  surplus  of  several  hundred  bushels  of 
corn,  with  which  they  procure  clothing,  furniture,  and  foreign 
articles  of  luxury,  particularly  sugar  and  coffee,  of  which  they  are 
immoderately  fond.  Others  manufacture  their  own  clothes  from 
cotton  produced  in  their  own  fields.  The  current  is  now  setting 
very  strongly  in  favor  of  agriculture  and  other  laborious  pursuits. 
All  are  convinced  that  the  very  existence  of  their  community  must 
be  preserved  in  this  way.  if  preserved  at  all. 

"  Notwithstanding  these  encouraging  appearances,  however,  it  is 
not  to  be  disguised,  that  many  things  still  remaining  among  the 
23 


178  I^IFE   OF  EVARTS. 

Cherokees,  are  greatly  to  be  deplored.  Much  poverty  and 
wretchedness,  several  gross  vices,  particularly  drunkenness,  and  an 
almost  total  ignorance  of  God,  his  law,  and  the  plan  of  salvation, 
need  to  be  chased  away,  before  the  people  generally  can  reach 
the  proper  standard  of  rational  and  immortal  beings.  What  has 
been  already  done  in  the  way  of  communicating  evangelical  in- 
struction, though  of  inestimable  value  to  such  individuals  as  have 
received  spiritual  benefit,  and  as  an  experiment  of  what  way  be 
done,  is  yet  a  mere  specimen  of  that  benevolent  agency  which 
needs  to  be  extended,  not  only  to  every  part  of  the  Cherokee 
country,  but  to  all  the  Indian  tribes  in  North  America,  and  to  all 
the  heathens  on  the  globe. 

"  The  attempts  of  the  Cherokees  to  institute  civil  government 
for  themselves,  adapted  to  their  improving  condition,  succeed  quite 
as  well  as  could  be  expected.  Their  incipient  jurisprudence  ap- 
pears to  secure  the  respect  of  the  people.  The  distribution  of  the 
legislative,  judicial,  and  executive  powers  of  government,  is  made 
with  considerable  skill  and  judgment.  I  have  in  my  possession 
the  details  of  the  system  ;  but  cannot  conveniently  transcribe  them 
here.  While  1  was  at  Brainerd  a  court  was  held  for  Chickamaugah 
district,  and  a  member  of  it  reported  to  me  two  of  the  cases  which 
were  then  decided. 

"  During  my  stay,  I  visited  Mr.  Hicks,  who  lives  seventeen  miles 
from  Brainerd.  The  Christian  and  public  character  of  this  man  is 
well  known.  Though  he  has  been  confined  for  a  long  time  by  ill 
health,  his  mind  is  active  and  vigorous.  He  appears  to  be  in- 
fluenced in  his  labors  for  the  good  of  his  countrymen  by  patriotism, 
under  the  control  of  Christian  principle.  He  became  a  member 
of  the  Moravian  church  about  thirteen  years  ago;  and  his  wife 
lately  joined  the  same  communion. 

*'  It  deserves  to  be  mentioned  with  gratitude,  that  there  has 
been  no  instance  hitherto,  among  the  Cherokee  converts  at 
Brainerd  and  Creek  path,  of  any  such  departure  from  Christian 
conduct,  as  to  bring  scandal  upon  the  cause,  or  call  for  censure 
from  the  church.  On  the  contrary,  all  these  converts  discover  a 
great  desire  to  ascertain  their  duty  ;  and,  when  they  have  learned 
what  their  duty  is,  an  uncommon  willingness  to  perform  it.  The 
same  is  true,  so  far  as  1  have  been  informed;  of  the  members  of 
the  Moravian  church. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  179 

"  It  is  obvious  to  every  reflecting  person,  that  now  is  the  time  to 
benefit  these  southwestern  tribes,  by  the  communication  of  the 
Gospel.  If  this  time  should  pass  away  without  being  employed 
to  the  best  advantage;  if  the  present  attempts  should  fail,  either 
from  the  want  of  pecuniary  means,  or  a  deficiency  of  wisdom  in 
planning  and  directing  the  business,  or  of  fidelity  and  perseverance 
in  the  missionaries,  or  in  consequence  of  the  divine  blessing  not 
being  granted  ;  it  is  impossible  to  see  how  a  remedy  can  ever  be 
applied  hereafter.  The  present  state  of  things  cannot  continue 
long.  The  Cherokees,  the  Choctaws,  and  the  other  tribes,  must  "^ 
either  rise  to  the  rank  of  intelligent  men  and  well  instructed 
Christians,  or  they  must  melt  away,  destroyed  by  vices  copied 
from  unprincipled  whites,  having  sold  their  birthright  for  a  mess  of 
pottage,  and  being  left,  in  the  land  of  their  fathers,  without  pro- 
perty, without  a  home,  and  without  a  friend.  Who  would  not  be 
pained  at  so  lamentable  an  issue  ?  How  can  any  disciple  of 
Christ  hesitate,  whether  he  shall  do  all  in  his  power  to  impart  the 
blessings  of  civilization  and  Christianity,  at  this  critical  period?  A 
favorable  impulse  may  now  be  given,  which,  with  the  continued 
smiles  of  Providence,  shall  perpetuate  the  privileges  and  the  hopes 
of  the  Gospel  among  a  people,  whose  ancestors,  from  time  imme- 
morial, were  enveloped  in  all  the  darkness  of  heathenism.  Is  not 
such  an  object  worthy  of  continued  labors  and  persevering  efforts  ?" 

TO    REV.    R.    ANDERSON. 

Knoxville,  Tennessee,  May  21, 1S22. 

"  The  proposal  of  Dr.  Porter  of  Catskill*  strikes  me  very  favor- 
ably ;  and  I  have  only  this  observation  to  make  upon  it,  that  our 
Board  ought  to  proceed  with  great  deliberation,  in  the  selection  of 
every  important  officer.  So  far  as  I  am  personally  concerned,  I 
desire  to  be  employed  in  that  sphere  where  my  services  may  turn 
to  the  best  account ;  and  of  this  I  am  desirous  that  others  should 
judge.  It  would  be  certainly  most  agreeable  to  me,  however,  not 
to  be  obliged  to  attend  to  so  many  departments  as  I  have  done 
for  a  year  or  two.  In  regard  to  any  new  appointment,  it  should 
of  course  be  well  considered,  and  the  Board  should  not  be  hastily 

*  Relating  to  the  apppintment  of  a  Treasurer  of  the  Board. 


180  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

committed.    I  do  not  mention  this  because  I  have  any  fears  on  the 
subject ;  but  as  a  reason  why  1  do  not  say  any  thing  more  decided." 

"  June  3.  Left  Knoxville.  Stopped  at  L.'s.  A  methodist  minister 
present, — a  young  man  on  a  circuit.  He  was  very  reserved  and 
shy.  I  could  not  engage  him  in  conversation  upon  religious  topics. 
Did  not  forget  the  monthly  concert : — the  first  on  which  I  have 
not  been  present  with  some  assembly  of  the  people  of  God,  as  I 
remember,  since  July  1818,  when  I  was  in  the  north-west  corner 
of  Maryland,  on  the  Cumberland  road. 

"The  negro  who  ferried  me  over  at  Mackley's,  discovered  great 
joy  when  I  inquired  of  him  respecting  his  religious  character.  He 
said  that  he  could  read  some  in  the  Bible  ;  but  he  had  many  ene- 
mies, who  would  come  and  snatch  the  book  from  him  and  throw 
it  into  the  fire.  He  appeared  to  discover  marks  of  real  goodness. 
I  encouraged  him  to  persevere,  and  gave  him  some  advice  as  to 
procuring  books. 

"4.  Where  we  called  for  breakfast,  our  host  was  full  of  talk. 
He  said  there  had  been  a  great  change  in  the  religious  character 
of  J.  within  a  few  years.  Dr.  C.  preached  there  early,  and  had 
been  the  principal  cause  of  the  change. 

"  6.  Jonesboro.'  Mr.  Goodell  preached  in  the  evening,  and  I 
made  some  remarks.  Never  have  we  been  so  cordially  received 
at  any  place.  It  was  really  cheering  to  see  the  alacrity  of  these 
men. 

"  9.  Sabbath.  Abingdon,  Va.  Attended  the  preaching  of  a 
Methodist  at  the  Court-house,  A.  M.  In  the  interval  of  worship, 
the  minister  baptized  a  negro  infant,  brought  by  its  mother.  He 
made  no  inquiries  of  the  woman,  but  immediately  used  the  Wes- 
leyan  form  of  that  ordinance.  Afterwards  our  hostess  told  him 
with  a  laugh  that  the  black  woman  was  a  Baptist,  and  had  her 
child  baptized  because  "  she  did  not  know  whether  her  child, 
when  he  grows  up,  will  be  a  Methodist  or  a  Baptist." 

"Lexington,  Va.  June  15.  At  the  post-office  here  I  found  the 
June  Herald  ; — to  my  great  joy,  as  it  answers  for  many  letters. 
It  has  been  here  six  or  eight  days.  I  could  not  find  that  it  was 
taken  at  any  place  between  this  town  and  Greenville,  Tennessee, 
a  distance  of  two  hundred  and  fifty-five  miles. 


LIFE  OF  EVARTS.  181 

"At  the  house  of  an  obscure  Tennessee  farmer,  where  I  had  ^ 
stopped  for  rest  and  refreshment,  I  was  surprised  to  find  the  Her- 
ald ;  and  Mr.  Goodell,  at  the  house  of  a  farmer,  (where  he  called 
for  a  drink  of  water,  I  think,)  found  the  Christian  Spectator,  the 
Religious  Intelligencer,  the  Guardian,  the  Boston  Recorder,  and 
the  Herald.  A  clergyman  with  whom  I  spent  a  night,  who  lives 
in  a  log  house,  (as  does  almost  every  body  else  in  that  region,) 
and  is  evidently  in  very  moderate  circumstances,  takes  the  Boston 
Recorder,  the  Christian  Spectator,  and  the  family  Visitor  from 
Richmond.  He  has  the  Herald  sent  to  him  for  a  society.  Yet 
corn,  the  staple  of  the  country,  sells  for  twenty-five  cents  a  bushel  ; 
and  it  is  almost  impossible  to  get  money  for  it  at  any  price.  How 
ought  such  facts  as  these  to  shame  multitudes  of  professors  of 
religion  in  New  England  !  If  I  can  put  these  facts  in  such  a  form 
as  will  give  no  offence,  I  may  hereafter  make  use  of  them  in 
print." 

Mr.  Evarts  arrived  at  Boston  on  the  17th  of  August.  His 
health  having  been  essentially  improved  by  the  voyage  and  jour- 
ney, he  immediately  engaged,  with  his  accustomed  industry,  in 
preparing  the  Annual  Report,  and  in  other  important  duties.  At 
the  meeting  of  the  Board  in  September,  Henry  Hill,  Esq.  was 
elected  Treasurer,  and  Mr.  Evarts  Corresponding  Secretary,  and 
in  this  office  he  was  continued,  by  annual  election,  till  his  death. 

Among  the  earliest  letters  written  after  this  arrangement,  was 
one  of  condolence  to  his  missionary  friend,  Mr.  Kingsbury.  ''  We 
had  learned,"  said  he,  "by  a  letter  from  Mr.  Williams,  which  was 
received  a  few  days  earlier  than  yours,  that  the  Lord  had  seen  fit, 
in  his  holy  and  mysterious  Providence,  to  remove  from  you  the  friend 
of  your  bosom,  one  who  was  greatly  endeared  to  you  and  to  the 
mission,  and  whose  services  were  very  valuable,  and  seemed  to  us 
very  much  needed.  This  is,  indeed,  a  severe  affliction  to  us  all.  As 
such  I  feel  it  ;  and  as  such  it  will  be  extensively  felt  by  the 
friends  of  missions.  But  you  will  feel  the  stroke  longer  and 
more  keenly  than  others  ;  yet  you  will  not  be  destitute  of  great 
and  heavenly  consolations.  These  consolations  will  support  you, 
and  enable  you  to  prosecute  the  work  to  which  you  are  assigned, 
till  you   too  are  released  from   your  labors,  and  your  works  follow 


182  LIFE  OF  EVARTS. 

you,  as  I  trust  they  will,  to  the  honor  of  free  grace  and  to  your 
eternal  joy.  In  the  midst  of  disappointments  and  trials  of  this 
mortal  state,  let  us  comfort  one  another  with  these  words. 

"  I  know  not  how  short  my  own  pilgrimage  will  be  ;  nor  whether 
I  shall  ever  visit  the  south  again  ;  yet  I  had  fondly  pleased  myself 
with  the  idea  of  being  welcomed  by  Mrs.  Kingsbury  to  her  habi- 
tation— the  place  of  her  cares  and  her  comforts — the  scene  of  her 
laborious  industry  and  patient  self-denial.  Happy  will  it  be,  if 
we  are  prepared  to  meet  in  heaven. 

"  Instead  of  indulging  in  fruitless  grief,  let  us  dwell  much  on  the 
glorious  victory  over  death  and  the  grave,  which  Christianity  has 
achieved.  Let  us  think  of  this  subject  with  a  holy  exuhaiion; 
and  consider,  even  while  we  look  on  the  dying  bed  of  an  intimate 
friend,  if  such  a  friend  is  just  going  to  heaven,  how  much  more 
occasion  we  have  to  rejoice  than  to  mourn. 

"  For  three  years  in  succession,  the  AUwise  Disposer  has  seen  fit 
to  remove  a  valuable  laborer  from  your  mission  at  about  this  sea- 
son of  the  year.  Whether  the  summons  of  death  will  be  more  or 
less  frequent  hereafter,  it  is  not  in  the  power  of  man  to  predict ; 
but  we  may  be  certain  that  we  shall  labor  but  a  little  while  here  be- 
low ; — that  the  demands  upon  our  time  are  numerous  and  pressing  ; 
— and  that  we  shall  never  regret  having  exerted  ourselves  to  the 
utmost  in  the  service  of  our  Divine  Master. 

"In  regard  to  opening  a  school  in    the  compact  settlement  near 
Capt.  Folsom's,"  he  adds,  passing  to  another  topic,  "  1  entirely  ap- 
prove of  it,  whenever  you  have  any  person,  who  can  be  assigned  to 
that  service:  and  so,  of  other  local  schools.     We  wish  them  to  be 
established  as  fast  as  possible  ;  and,  if  we  had  men  of  proper  quali- 
fications, we  should  send  them  immediately.    You  must  be  aware, 
my  dear  sir,  that  every  young  man  who  feels  a  missionary  impulse, 
is   not  qualified  to  go  into  the  wilderness, — reside  among  a  strange 
people, — accustom  himself,  in  some  degree,  to  their  modes  of  life, 
— act  as  agent,  teacher,  laborer,  guide  and  friend, — establish  rules 
for  his  school, — induce  the  parents  and  the  children  to   conform 
to  these  rules, — persevere  in  his  work   among  many  discourage- 
ments, and   fix  himself  firmly  in  the  affections  of  the  people,  not- 
withstanding the  opposition   of  the  ignorant  and  the  unprincipled. 
Some  men  can  do  all  this ;  our  country  contains  many  who  could 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  I33 

do  it ;  but  of  these  many,  nearly  all  are  otherwise  occupied,  and 
do  not  think  of  offering  themselves  to  the  work.  I  am  convinced, 
that  nothing  like  an  adequate  number  of  local  schools  can  be  es- 
tablished, eilher  in  the  Choctaw  or  Cherokee  nations,  unless  most 
of  them  are  commenced  upon  a  very  humble  scale.  The  teacher 
must  go  into  a  neighborhood  as  a  single  man  ; — he  must  contrive, 
and  labor,  and  pray,  till  he  gets  a  school-house  erected,  in  great 
part,  by  the  industry  of  his  own  hands  ; — he  must  proceed  by  de- 
grees, and  at  small  expense,  and  by  continued  industry,  add  one 
comfort  after  another." 

According  to  this  arrangement  Mr.  Evarts  was  to  discharge  the 
duties  of  Corresponding  Secretary  and  editor  of  the  Missionary 
Herald.  His  private  papers  of  this  period  indicate  surprising  in- 
dustry and  the  most  conscientious  employment  of  time.  The 
year  1822  was  commenced  with  a  minute  journal  of  business 
transacted  from  day  to  day,  in  which  the  entries  were  made  reg- 
ularly till  the  failure  of  his  health.  "  Unless  1  mistake,"  he  re- 
marks in  the  first  entry  for  the  year  1823,  "  it  is  useful,  as  a 
prompter  to  activity  and  diligence,  to  note  down,  occasionally,  the 
manner  in  which  time  is  employed,  I  propose  to  commence  the 
year  in  this  manner.  May  the  year  now  commencing  be  eminently 
devoted  to  God."  The  entries  that  follow  are  not  a  mere  journal 
of  what  was  done  ;  they  show  also  the  time — the  hours  and  parts 
of  hours,  devoted  to  various  employments  through  the  day.  It 
was  some  interrupted  by  a  recurrence  of  ill  health.  A  subsequent 
journal,  kept  for  a  short  time,  shows  still  more  minutely  how  every 
moment  in  the  twenty-four  hours  was  employed.  It  was  obviously 
not  his  object  when  commencing  these  minute  records,  to  continue 
them  for  a  long  time.  He  thought  it  useful,  occasionally,  in  order 
to  assure  himself  that  his  moments  did  not  run  to  waste,  and 
to  strengthen  his  habits  of  activity  and  diligence ;  and  these  ends 
were  attained  by  the  watchfulness  necessary  for  such  a  record  for 
a  few  weeks  at  a  time.  As  mere  records,  they  would  cost  more 
than  they  were  worth.     He  used  them  as  a  means  of  discipline. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  year,  and  till  late  in  the  spring,  he  was 
much  confined  to  his  house  by  a  weakness  and  irritation  of  the 
lungs,  with  symptoms  at  times  that  were  thought  alarming.     "  It 


184  LIFE  OF  EVARTS. 

is  not  a  new  thought  to  me,"  he  says  in  his  Journal,  April  13th, 
18'23,  (Sabbath,)  "  that  God  may  very  probably  remove  me  soon 
froni  this  world.  Unless  deceived  as  to  my  own  feelings  I  can 
truly  say,  Thy  will  be  done.  May  the  Lord  give  me  wisdom  to 
spend  my  remaining  time  in  his  fear,  and  to  the  glory  of  his  name, 
— to  the  benefit  of  my  family  and  friends,  and  to  the  furtherance 
of  the  missionary  cause.  I  have  been  providentially  detained 
from  public  worship  two  Sabbaths  in  January,  four  in  February, 
and  two  in  March,  before  this  day  ;  which  is  more,  I  think,  than 
I  have  been  kept  from  the  house  of  God  by  ill-health  (beside  this 
winter  and  the  six  Sabbaths  taken  up  in  my  voyages  for  health) 
during  the  last  twenty  years.  Happy  could  I  say  that  my  profi- 
ciency in  the  knowledge  and  love  of  God  corresponded  with  my 
numerous  advantages." 

During  this  time  he  attended  daily  to  his  official  and  editorial 
duties,  as  his  strength  would  permit,  and  with  the  return  of  warm 
weather  was  able  to  resume  his  usual  habits  of  application. 

TO    THE    CEVLON    MISSIONARIES. 

Boston,  April  15,  1S23. 

"  I  am  happy  to  inform  you  that  your  application  to  the  American 
Bible  Society  was  successful,  and  that  we  now  remit  the  .'^SOO 
which  they  granted  for  the  purchase  of  Tamil  Bibles.  I  was 
providentially  present  in  New  York  when  the  Report  of  the  Com- 
mittee was  made  to  the  Managers  ;  and  expressed  my  gratification, 
in  a  very  full  meeting,  with  the  reasoning  and  conclusion  of  the 
Report.  The  principle,  however,  of  making  any  foreign  grant, 
was  much  opposed,  both  in  the  Committee  and  in  the  Board  of 
Managers.  The  ground  of  opposition  was,  as  you  may  well  sup- 
pose, that  our  own  country  is  in  need  of  more  Bibles  than  the  So- 
ciety is  able  to  furnish. 

"  For  myself,  I  consider  this  decision  as  a  great  era  in  the  history 
of  the  Society,  and  of  evangelical  operations  in  this  country;  and 
as  such  I  rejoice  in  it  exceedingly,  independently  of  any  bearing 
it  may  have  on  your  mission,  or  any  benefit  which  the  Tamil  pop- 
ulation of  India  may  derive  from  it. 

We  greatly  desire  that  you  may  be  able  to  set  up  a  printing 
press.    The  reasons  for  such  a  measure  multiply  daily,  and  I  cannot 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS, 


185 


but  hope  you  will  be  enabled  to  do  it.  Within  a  few  days  I  have 
received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Mooney,  formerly  of  Bombay,  now  one 
of  the  directors  of  the  East  India  Company  and  a  member  of 
Parliament,  advising  that  a  reinforcement  be  sent  to  the  Bombay 
mission,  and  pledging  himself  to  write  to  the  governor,  the  judge, 
and  other  influential  persons  there,  with  a  view  to  gain  admission 
for  additional  missionaries.  Mr.  Wilberforce  also  wrote  to  me, 
giving  assurance  that  he  would  do  all  in  his  power  to  promote  the 
interests  of  our  missions.  I  hope  soon  to  write  to  both  these  gen- 
tlemen, directing  their  attention  to  certain  things  in  which  they 
Hiay  be  very  useful  to  us. 

"We  have  no  missionary  printers  on  our  list  of  applicants,  al- 
though we  want  one  much  for  the  Mediterranean,  and  shall  want 
one  for  Ceylon.  Pray  much  that  suitable  men  may  offer  for  every 
department  of  the  great  work.  Missionaries  seem  often  to  think 
that  men  enough  of  the  right  character  can  be  had  at  a  moment's 
warning.  This  is  altogether  a  mistake.  Pray  that  men  and 
women  may  be  found,  who  are  thoroughly  furnished  unto 
every  good  loork.  I  cannot  but  give  thanks  to  God  on  your  be- 
half, that  you  have  been  so  much  united  in  heart  and  in  action. 
This  is  a  peculiar  smile  of  Providence  upon  your  mission.  May 
you  be  more  and  more  connected  together  in  brotherly  love  ;  and 
may  you  find  by  experience  that  the  good  seed  of  righteousness 
is  sown  in  peace  of  them  that  make  peace. 

"It  has  also  given  us  great  pleasure  that  you,  in  common  with 
the  missionaries  of  the  Board  generally,  preach  to  the  heathen 
the  plain  doctrines  of  the  Gospel,  particularly  their  exposure  to 
final  and  endless  ruin.  In  connexion  with  this  awful  exposure, 
you  doubtless  find  the  necessity  of  dwelling  much  on  the  love  of 
Christ.  Ministers  in  this  country  are  preaching  more  concerning 
the  character  of  Christ  than  they  used  to  do,  and  unquestionably 
you  and  other  missionaries  can  bear  witness  that  this  blessed  char- 
acter should  be  held  up  continually  to  the  view  of  the  heathen. 

"  Permit  me  to  add  that  in  the  communications  of  missionaries 
with  home,  they  should  avoid  the  language  of  direct  reproach,  accu- 
sation, or  crimination  of  professing  Christians  for  their  supineness  in 
the  missionary  warfare.  However  just  the  language  of  crimination 
may  be,  and  however  necessary  that  professed  Christians  should 
24 


J  85  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

be  made  to  feel  their  guilt  in  this  matter,  it  is  not  best  that  a  formal 
accusation  should  b:  preferrfd  by  a  missionary,  he  may  accom- 
plish the  business  of  arousing  his  countrymen  by  the  language  of 
gratitude  for  what  has  been  done  ;  the  language  of  encouragement 
for  future  exertions  ;  the  language  of  deep  and  feeling  lamentation 
for  the  desolations  which  siuTOund  him  ; — by  the  exhibition  of  the 
motives  which  constrain  him  to  labor  for  the  heathen  ;  and  by  the 
description  of  inviting  fields  of  labor  with  which  he  is  acquainted. 
Let  him  urge  the  claims  of  perishing  millions,  as  claims  which  press 
on  the  heart  and  conscience, — as  claims  which  he  cannot  neglect  or 
disregard.  Let  him  represent  all  that  is  done  for  the  heathen, 
though  in  itself  a  foundation  for  gratitude  and  praise  unspeakable, 
yet  as  very  little,  when  compared  with  the  wants  of  the  heathen 
world.  Having  done  this,  let  him  hope  that  others  will  follow  his 
reasonings  to  their  various  conclusions  ;  or  that  Christians  will 
make  the  ap|  lication  to  themselves. 

*'  Missionaries,  of  all  men  in  the  world,  should  rely  much  on 
prayer;  and  there  are  two  topics  which  I  would  commend  to  your 
special  attention  :  one  is,  that  God  would  be  pleased  to  select  such 
men  and  women  foumissionaries,  in  every  department  of  the  work, 
as  he  shall  see  fit  to  honor  in  making  them  the  cheerful  and  volun- 
tary instruments  of  his  mercy  :  the  other  is,  that  He  would  select 
suitable  persons,  sufficient  in  number  and  in  regular  succession,  to 
take  charge  of  missionary  affairs  at  home.  Pray  for  the  Commit- 
tee, and  for  all  active  agents  of  the  Board." 

TO    ADAM    HODGSON,    ESQ.    LIVERPOOL. 

Boston,  April  20,  1823. 

"  I  sincerely  congratulate  you  on  the  success  of  your  letters  in 
the  Christian  Observer.  They  are  very  well  received  in  this 
country,  and  are  regarded  as  candid  and  just.  I  did  intend  to 
mention  some  slight  errors  into  which  you  have  fallen  ;  but  1  know 
not  that  1  shall  get  time.  They  do  not,  however,  affect  the  gen- 
.eral  accuracy  of  the  letters  ;  nor  are  they  of  material  consequence 
in  any  respect.  Unless  we  are  mistaken,  the  current  of  public 
opinion  in  Great  Britain  is  turning  in  favor  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States.     At  least  a  kind  and  candid  disposition  towards  us 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  187 

is  propagated  more  easily  tiian  ever  heretofore.  If  the  inhabitants 
of  both  countries  will  be  wise,  they  will  find  the  highest  interest  of 
each  entirely  compatible  with  the  greatest  prosperity  of  the 
other.  Indeed  national  rivalries  and  animosities  are  as  unreason- 
able and  unprofitable  as  they  are  unchristian.  I  am  persuaded 
the  world  is  learning,  (but  too  slowly)  some  valuable  lessons  on 
this  point.     Blessed  are  the  peace-makers. 

"  Your  quotation  from  a  letter  of  Mrs.  IMore  gave  rne  and  my 
friends  great  pleasure.  It  is  delightful  to  see  a  Christian  influence 
exerted  to  promote  a  good  understanding  and  kind  feelings 
between  two  nations  which  are  doubtless  to  take  an  important 
part  as  instruments  in  fixing  the  moral  destinies  of  the  world." 

"  Aug.  15.  Returned  from  a  journey  of  more  than  five  weeks 
through  the  western  part  of  this  state,  and  the  states  of  Vermont 
and  New  Hampshire.  It  is  but  about  sixty  days  before  I  expect 
to  set  out  on  a  journey  and  agency  for  the  Board.  Much  business 
needs  to  be  done  previously  to  my  leaving.  May  the  Lord  give 
me  strength  to  accomplish  it." 

The  journey  and  agency  for  the  Board  here  alluded  to,  oc- 
cupied several  months.  Mr.  Evarts  left  Boston  early  in  Decem- 
ber, in  company  with  David  Brown,  a  young  Cherokee  of  good 
education  and  excellent  character,  on  a  visit  to  the  Indian  mis- 
sions. On  his  way  he  attended  public  meetings  in  the  cities  and 
principal  towns,  making  such  statements  in  public  as  opportunity 
seemed  to  invite  ;  transacting  various  business  of  the  Board  ;  and 
conferring  with  many  clergymen  and  others  in  regard  to  the  in- 
terests of  our  missionary  institutions.  At  New  York,  Princeton, 
Philadelphia,  &ic.,  he  was  much  engaged  in  consultations  respect- 
ing the  union  of  the  United  Foreign  Missionary  Society*  and  the 
American  Board.  The  subject  was  then  exciting  great  interest,  and 
demanded  of  Mr.  Evarts  the  exercise  of  his  best  judgment,  and  all 
the  delicacy  and  prudence  which  even  he  could  command.  He 
succeeded  in  satisfactorily  disposing  of  two  or  three  plans  that  had 

*  This  Society  originated  in  1S17,  in  the  union  of  the  New  York  Missionary  Sodety, 
formed  in  1796;  the  Northern  Missionary  Society,  (in  the  State  of  New  York,)  1797; 
and  the  Western  Missionary  Society  (Pittsburgh,)  1&02.  Its  missions  were  among; 
the  Indians  exclusively. 


138  I^IFE   OF  EVARTS. 

attracted  some  attention,  and  in  gaining  general  assent  to  one  pro- 
posed by  himself,  and  according  to  which,  substantially,  the  union 
was  afterwards  effected.  From  Philadelphia  he  wrote  home, 
urging  immediate  preparations  for  establishing  a  mission  to  China, 
with  a  sketch  of  a  plan,  based  on  information  derived  from  persons 
engaged  in  the  China  trade.  At  Washington  he  spent  about 
three  weeks.  Congress  was  in  session,  and  some  important  ques- 
tions relating  to  the  Indians  were  under  consideration,  and  he 
exerted  himself  to  prevent  any  decision  injurious  to  their  religious 
interests.  His  letters  to  his  associates  at  home  had  been  very 
frequent ;  but  after  spending  more  than  two  weeks  in  Washington, 
he  remarked  :  "  I  hardly  know  how  it  has  come  to  pass  that  I 
have  not  written  to  you  from  this  place,  except  on  the  evening  of 
my  arrival.  My  time  has  been  so  much  divided  by  calls  on  mem- 
bers of  Congress,  on  the  Cherokee  delegation,  and  on  others  who 
might  exert  an  influence,  greater  or  less,  on  our  missionary  con- 
cerns, that  I  have  scarcely  been  able  to  do  the  necessary  writing 
for  persons  on  the  spot."  One  of  the  questions  that  occasioned 
Mr.  Evarts  some  solicitude  was  the  repeal  of  the  law  by  which  a 
fund  of  ^'10,000  a  year  was  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  Presi- 
dent, to  be  used  in  promoting  the  civilization  of  the  Indians, — a 
measure  which  some  influential  persons  had  a  settled  design  to 
carry.  He  had  the  satisfaction  to  see  the  plan  defeated.  In  re- 
gard, also,  to  the  claims  which  the  State  of  Georgia  were  then 
beginning  to  urge,  he  left  Washington  in  confident  hope  that  they 
would  not  prevail.  "  The  Cherokees,"  he  said,  "  are  determined, 
not  to  sell  another  foot  of  their  land  ;  and  so  long  as  they  remain 
firm  in  their  purpose,  the  people  of  this  country  will  not  forcibly 
dispossess  them." 

At  New  York  he  met  Mr.  Robertson,*  who  had  proposed  to  go 
as  a  missionary  to  the  Jews  in  Western  Asia,  under  the  patronage 
of  a  society  of  ladies  in  Boston,  auxiliary  to  the  Board. 

"  Jan.  8.  On  my  stating  that  we  deemed  it  improper  for  us  to 
send  out  any  missionaries  who  did  not  regard  our  other  mission- 
aries as  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  and  was  not  willing  to  unite  with 

*  Rev.  J.  J.  Robertson,  D.  D.,  afterwards  Episcopal  missionary  at  Athens  and  Con- 
Btantinople. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  jgg 

them  in  the  ordinances  of  religion,  he  observed  that,  though  he  did 
not  wish  to  decide  that  they  were  not  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  and 
though  he  had  no  doubt  that  the  ordinances,  as  administered  by 
them,  were  valid  to  such  as  received  them  in  faith  ;  yet  he  hesitated, 
to  admit  them  himself  as  ministers  in  the  Christian  church,  and 
could  not,  with  his  present  views,  receive  the  sacrament  at  their 
hands.  I  had  two  long  interviews  with  him.  He  entirely  concurs 
with  us  in  the  propriety  of  our  employing  in  the  same  field  those 
only  who  can  act  together  as  ministers  in  the  celebration  of  the 
sacraments  and  in  the  establishment  of  churches.  I  expressed  a 
wish  that  he  might  go  out  in  the  employment  of  the  Episcopal 
Missionary  Society,  and  assured  him  that  our  missionaries  would 
rejoice  to  co-operate  with  him  in  any  works  of  benevolence.  He 
thought  that  society  would  not  be  able  to  send  a  missionary  for 
a  long  time  to  come." 

To  a  friend  who  had  been  employed  to  assist  in  the  business  of 
his  office  : 

Wilmingtoa,  Del.  January  17th,  1S24. 

"  Permit  me  to  hail  you  as  a  fellow  laborer  in  the  greatest  and 
best  of  causes.  A  fellow  laborer,  indeed,  you  have  been  hereto- 
fore ;  but  now,  in  a  more  peculiar  and  intimate  sense,  we  sustain 
this  happy  relationship  to  each  other.  Though  I  am  not  informed 
to  what  extent  your  services  are  expected,  as  to  duration  or  the 
object  to  which  they  will  be  applied,  I  earnestly  desire  that  you 
may  experience  the  divine  direction  in  all  that  you  do  or  at- 
tempt for  the  spread  of  the  Gospel  as  an  agent  for  the  Christian 
public. 

"  Before  I  left  Boston,  the  principal  heavy  business  of  my  depart- 
ment was  despatched,  viz.  :  the  Annual  Report,  the  fitting  out 
assistant  missionaries,  with  all  the  preparatory  measures  respecting 
them,  the  reinforcement  to  Bombay,  and  the  appointment,  com- 
missioning, and  instruction  of  agents. 

"  There  must  be  some  correspondence  during  my  absence  ;  but 
the  most  important  business  is  the  intercourse  with  the  public  by 
means  of  the  press.  Here  great  caution  and  deliberation  are 
necessary,  both  in  regard  to  facts  and  reasonings.  In  the  state- 
ment of  facts  it  is  the  easiest  thing  in  the  world  to  make  mistakes, 


190 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 


by  trusting  one's  self  at  all  beyond  the  limits  of  unquestionable 
authority.  Of  this  you  nnust  have  been  aware  from  your  connec- 
tion with  the  Recorder  ;  but  you  can  hardly  be  so  fully  aware  of 
it  as  you  would  be  after  a  ten  years'  acquaintance  with  original 
documents  from  which  publications  have  been  made  and  subjected 
to  the  eyes  of  the  writers. 

"  In  regard  to  reasonings  and  motives  presented  to  the  Christian 
public,  there  is  need  of  still  greater  caution.  I  have  never  felt 
the  weight  of  my  employment  so  much,  in  regard  to  any  one  thing, 
as  in  regard  to  this.  Not  to  say  any  thing  which  shall  let  down 
the  standard  of  missionary  feeling,  and  of  the  duties  imposed  upon 
Christians  by  the  missionary  cause,  or  which  shall  by  its  boldness 
and  apparently  severe  requisitions,  offend  some  of  the  real  friends 
of  the  cause,  is  a  delicate  and  difficult  point. 

"  I  would  recommend  to  the  Committee  that  they  make  imme- 
diate arrangen)ents  for  the  next  annual  meeting,  in  order  to  give 
it  a  more  popular  cast  than  heretofore." 

TO    THE    E.EV.    CYRUS    KINGSBURY. 

City  of  Washington,  Feb.  1,  1S24.  ) 
Sabbath  evening.  j 

"  It  seems  to  me  that  the  prospects  of  the  Indians,  so  far  as 
their  connexion  with  the  government  of  the  United  States  is  to  be 
refrarded,  are  very  dark  and  discouraging.  The  doctrines  now 
held,  go  the  full  length  of  asserting  that  the  Indians  can  have  no 
separate  community  for  any  length  of  time,  within  the  limits  of 
any  State  ;  of  course,  not  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States. 
The  Cherokee  delegation  is  here,  and  in  not  a  little  trouble.  I 
feel  distressed  for  them  ;  but  can  think  of  no  relief  for  them  as  a 
people,  unless  our  whole  American  community  were  to  become 
just  and  benevolent,  which  is  not  to  be  expected.  As  mission- 
aries and  friends  of  missions,  we  must  do  what  we  can." 

TO    H.    HILL,    ESQ. 

Washington  City,  February  6,  1S24. 

"  Pray  inform  me  how  the  collections  go  on  for  the  Boston  For- 
eign Missionary  Society.     1  am  anxious  that  a  full  effort  should  be 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  191 

made  there.  Unless  I  am  mistaken,  Boston  is  more  able,  whether 
the  rich  or  the  middling  people  are  regarded,  to  raise  a  larger  sum 
annually,  than  any  other  city  in  the  Union.  There  are  more  per- 
sons whose  living  is  within  their  income,  than  elsewhere.  The 
great  enemy  of  charitable  exertion  is  expensiveness  of  living — and 
this  threatens  to  destroy  everything  good  in  this  country.  The 
Moravians  could  send  missionaries.  Why  ?  Because  the  plain- 
est style  of  living  satisfied  them,  and  a  large  part  of  their  scanty 
earnings  could  be  spared  for  the  sake  of  the  gospel." 

TO    MR.    S.    A.    WORCESTER.* 

Fredericksburgh,  Va.,  February  14,  1S24. 

*'  I  regret  to  see,  in  the  Recorder  of  February  7lh,  some  things 

which  I  communicated  concerning  Dr.  and    his   church. 

It  was  proper  to  read  that  paragraph  at  the  monthly  concert ;  but, 
on  several  accounts,  quite  a  mistake  to  print   the   substance  of  it. 

I  feel  this  subject  the  more,  as  Dr. is  peculiarly  averse  to 

making  a  noise,  as  he  expressed  it,  concerning  a  revival  of  relig- 
ion. He  was  afraid  that  too  much  had  been  done  of  this  sort, 
with  reference  to  the  revival  in  Boston,  and  said  that  he  should 
regret  nothing  so  much  as  to  set  people  talking  of  the  revival  in 
his  congregation.  He  did  not  even  call  it  by  that  name,  though 
there  were  thirty  new  inquirers,  if  I  remember  right,  the  week 
that  1  had  this  conversation  with  him.  If  not  thirty  new  inquirers, 
there  were  that  number  under  very  deep  and  serious  impressions. 
I  told  him  that  Mr.  Dwight  and  others  at  Boston,  were  quite  op- 
posed to  making  a  noise  about  a  revival,  and  entirely  agreed  with 
him  in  thinking  that  it  always  had  an  unfavorable  effect  upon  per- 
sons in  a  state  of  religious  anxiety  to  set  them  talking  about  oth- 
ers, and  to  let  ihem  suppose  that  others  are  talking  about  them. 
I  do  not  mean  to  intimate,  however,  that  it  is  not  useful  and  proper 
to  say  something  of  a  revival  during  its  continuance  ;  but  it  re- 
quires much  judgment  to  know  what  to  say." 

*  Then  an  assistant  in  Mr.  Evarts's  office ;  since,  a  missionary  to  the  Cherokees. 


192  ^^IFE   OF  EVARTS. 

TO    H.    HILL,    ESQ. 

Campbell  County,  Va.,  March  1, 1824. 

"  Another  monthly  concert  has  arrived.  You  have  been  permit- 
ted to  meet  this  evening  in  a  place  more  dear  to  my  recollections 
than  almost  any  other,  and  to  unite  with  friends  to  whom  I  am 
attached  by  many  strong  and  tender  ties  in  offering  supplications 
for  the  extension  of  the  church  and  the  salvation  of  perishing  men. 
Though  in  a  remote  country  inn,  1  have  directed  my  thoughts  to 
the  place  of  your  solemnities — and,  unless  I  am  deceived,  have 
been  with  you  in  spirit.  I  have  rarely  had  a  more  impressive 
view  of  the  grandeur  and  glory  of  this  voluntary  union  of  so 
many  thousands,  dispersed  through  so  many  countries,  in  asking 
for  the  greatest  blessings  which  are  ever  bestowed  upon  this  guilty 
world.  The  excitement  of  such  a  spirit  as  is  evinced  by  so  ex- 
tensive a  union  for  prayer,  may  justly  be  considered  as  decisive 
evidence  that  the  Lord  has  a  special  favor  for  the  missionary  cause, 
and  will  at  last  make  it  triumphant." 

TO    H.    HILL,    ESQ. 

Abingdon,  Va.,  March  9,  1S24. 

"  I  left  all  remains  of  snow  yesterday  morning,  as  1  have  de- 
scended several  hundred  feet  toward  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi. 
There  is  much  good  land  in  the  counties  through  which  this  road 
passes.  Were  it  not  for  slavery,  this  mountain  region  would  be  a 
most  delightful  place  for  a  New  England  farmer  to  select  for  his 
residence.  The  winter  is  quite  cold  enough  to  impart  vigor,  and 
the  climate  is  very  healthy.  I  have  now  travelled  about  four  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles  in  Virginia,  during  this  journey,  and  I  never 
saw  so  much  occasion  to  lament  the  introduction  of  the  blacks 
into  our  continent.  If  not  one  had  entered  the  limits  of  this 
State,  it  would  have  been  the  most  populous  and  the  most  wealthy 
State  in  the  Union,  and  would,  in  all  probability,  have  permanently 
maintained  the  ascendancy.  All  religious  and  moral  institutions 
might  have  flourished.  Instead  of  this,  a  moral  desolation  is 
spreading  over  many  parts  of  it." 


LIFE    OF   EVARTS.  ^93 


TO    H.    HILL,    ESQ. 

Greenville  College,  Green  County,  ) 
East  Tennessee,  March  12,  1S24.    J 

"  Crossed  the  Holston  just  below  its  junction  with  the  Watanga. 
It  is  a  curious  fact,  indicating  the  want  of  enterprize  in  this  coun- 
try, that  there  is  not  a  single  bridge  over  the  Holston,  (which  af- 
terwards takes  the  name  of  Tennessee,)  from  its  source  to  its 
mouth;  and  yet  there  is  not  a  river  in  the  United  States  over 
which  it  would  be  more  easy  to  erect  durable  bridges.  There  is 
one  bridfre,  I  am  told,  over  the  north  branch  of  the  Holston.  At 
many  crossings,  on  roads  not  much  travelled,  there  is  no  ferry  ; 
and  when  the  waters  are  high,  the  traveller  must  wait  till  they 
subside,  unless  he  will  swim  his  horse. 

"  The  soil  of  East  Tennessee  is  much  more  generally  capable 
of  cultivation  than  any  part  of  New  England.  There  are  some 
steep  and  rocky  hills  ;  but  in  many  parts,  for  miles  together,  you 
will  not  find  an  acre  which  might  not  be  advantageously  ploughed. 
Yet  the  population  is  sparse,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  country 
is  still  a  forest.  The  people  can  easily  be  supplied  with  the  neces- 
saries of  life  ;  but  the  prices  of  foreign  commodities  are  very  high, 
and  are  paid  for  with  great  difficulty.  It  is  evident  that,  with  the 
same  labor,  a  man  may  live  much  more  comfortably,  as  a  laboring 
farmer,  than  in  New  England  ;  and  yet,  in  point  of  fact,  the  farmers 
of  New  England  live  more  comfortably  than  the  same  class  of  peo- 
ple here.  The  difference  is  made  partly  by  habits  formed  here, 
when  the  country  was  in  a  much  ruder  state  than  it  is  at  present." 

TO    H.    HILL,    ESQ. 

March  13, 1824. 

"  In  my  letter  from  Abingdon,  I  expressed  my  belief  that  relig- 
ion was  in  a  more  encouraging  state  here,  than  at  almost  any  pre- 
vious time.  Some  facts  which  you  may  feel  an  interest  in  know- 
ing, are  as  follows  : 

"  When  Mr.  McE.  was  settled,  which  was  about  six  years  ago, 
he  had  but  one  man  in  his  church  who  was  willing  to  pray  in 
public,  or  to  take  any  leading  part  in  social  meetings  ;  now  he 
25 


194 


LIFE   OF   EVARTS. 


has  thirty-five  such  men,  and  prayer  meetings  are  very  frequent. 
Men  of  influence,  who  are  not  admitted  as  church  members,  attend 
public  worship  with  increasing  seriousness,  and  the  avowal  of  infi- 
delity is  much  more  rare  than  in  former  years. 

"Mr.  G.,  the  Presbyterian  clergyman  of  J. ,  has  admitted 

sixty  members  into  the  two  churches  over  which  he  is  pastor, 
during  the  last  year.  This  place  has  a  very  religious  character, 
though  formerly  it  was  the  reverse.  The  number  of  families  in 
the  village  I  should  suppose  to  be  somewhere  between  seventy 
and  one  hundred  ;  and  I  am  told,  that,  in  more  than  three  quar- 
ters of  them,  family  worship  is  constantly  maintained. 

"  Mr.  G.,  the  Presbyterian  clergyman  of  R. ,  had  admitted 

one  hundred  to  the  communion  of  the  two  churches  over  which 
he  is  pastor,  within  the  year  past ;  and  in  these  several  congrega- 
tions prospects  are  very  pleasing  at  present.  Since  T  was  in  this 
part  of  the  country,  less  than  two  years  ago,  several  of  the  most 
active  lawyers,  some  of  whom  I  then  saw,  have  made  a  profession 

of  religion.     One  of  these,  Mr. ,  was  admitted  to  the  church 

just  before  he  set  out  on  his  way  to  Washington,  as  a  member  of 
the  present  Congress.  On  the  evening  before  his  departure,  a 
small  social  meeting  for  prayer  in  his  behalf  was  held  at  his  house. 
He  is  a  young  man,  and  this  is  the  first  session  he  has  been  a 
member. 

"I  arrived  at  J. on  Wednesday  evening  rather  late.     On 

calling  at  the  minister's  residence,  I  found  he  had  gone  to  an  eve- 
ning meeting.  So  far  as  I  could  judge,  a  large  part  of  the  people 
were  going  also,  though  the  walking  was  very  bad.  I  resorted  to 
a  tavern  formerly  kept  by  a  religious  man  now  deceased,  and  sat 
some  time  in  the  public  room,  where  seven  or  eight  farmers  had 
formed  a  circle  round  the  fire.  The  court  was  in  session,  and 
they  were  attending.  They  conversed  freely  on  various  subjects  ; 
and  during  my  stay  I  did  not  hear  from  them  a  word  of  profane- 
ness,  levity,  slander,  or  passion  ;  in  short,  not  a  word  that  would 
lead  a  stranger  to  form  an  unfavorable  opinion  of  any  one  of  the 
number.  I  would  not  have  you  infer  that  there  is  no  profaneness 
here  ;  but  I  have  been  many  times  in  taverns,  at  court  time,  in 
country  towns  of  New  England,  and  a  similar  statement  could  not 
always,  (I  fear  not  often)  be  made  respecting  them. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  ^95 

"  As  I  approach  the  seat  of  the  Cherokee  mission,  I  deeply  feel 
the  need  of  divine  assistance  in  discharging  the  duties  which  de- 
volve upon  me  on  this  journey.  Without  this  aid  I  shall  do 
nothing  to  good  account.  The  Committee,  1  hope,  will  not  cease 
to  pray  for  me.  Any  counsels  which  they  may  impart,  will  be 
thankfully  received  and  diligently  regarded.  I  beseech  the  Lord 
of  missions  to  guide  the  Committee  in  all  things,  and  to  have  the 
operations  of  our  Board  under  his  peculiar  care.  May  he  raise  up 
more  faithful  and  successful  instruments  than  any  which  have  yet 
been  used." 

TO    H.    HILL,    ESQ. 
Clover  Hill,  Blount  Co.,  E.  Tennessee,  March  22,  1824. 

"Two  days  ago  I  wrote  you  a  short  letter  from  Knoxviile,  in 
which  I  acknowledged  having  received  the  melancholy  tidings  of 
my  father's  death.  This  event,  though  long  anticipated,  is  at- 
tended by  many  painful  reflections  ;  and  I  feel  more  inclined  to 
indulge  in  sadness,  than  on  any  former  occasion.  I  have  no  dis- 
position, I  trust,  to  murmur  at  the  dispensations  of  divine  Provi- 
dence ;  but  my  heart  is  distressed  on  account  of  the  sin  and  guilt 
under  which  our  race  are  suffering,  and  which  bring  upon  them 
sickness  and  death  and  other  innumerable  evils  ;  and  ray  mind 
dwells  on  a  thousand  circumstances,  connected  with  this  relation 
to  a  parent  now  gone,  which  no  other  person  could  feel  or  under- 
stand.* Yet  I  know  it  is  my  duty  to  pursue  the  course  in  which 
I  am  engaged,  and  to  communicate  such  things  relative  to  my 
journey,  as  may  possibly  be  of  some  use  to  us  hereafter." 

"Thursday,  18.  The  following  are  some  of  the  principal  ex- 
ternal difficulties  in  the  way  of  establishing  the  ordinances  of  the 
Gospel,  in  this  part  of  the  country,  so  that  all  the  people  may  be 
within  the  reach  of  stated  preaching : 

*  During-  the  latter  years  of  his  life,  Mr.  James  Evarts  suffered  much  from  various 
losses  and  perplexities,  under  which  the  son  e.xerled  himself  greatly  to  aid  and  sus- 
tain him.  He  never  made  a  public  profession  of  faith  in  Christ.  "  For  many  months," 
says  one  of  his  associates,  who  was  also  at  the  time  a  member  of  his  family,  "for 
many  months  Mr.  Evarts  was  in  the  habit  of  inviting  me  into  his  study  every  Sab 
bath  morning:,  with  few  exceptions,  to  look  to  Heaven  with  united  voice  for  his  aged 
father." 


195  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

"  1.  The  inhabitants  live  much  dispersed.  The  plan  of  their 
settlement  seems  to  have  been,  to  remove  as  far  from  neighbors  as 
possible.  Their  farms  are  very  large,  and  much  intervening  forest 
is  left  among  the  plantations.  They  have  no  wish,  generally 
speaking,  to  live  on  a  public  road  ;  they  seldom  associate  or  con- 
fer together  for  any  common  purpose  ;  and  they  get  into  such 
habits  of  living  alone,  that  it  seems  almost  impossible  to  impart  to 
them  the  same  principles  of  social  conduct  as  exist  among  people 
in  different  circumstances.  They  have  no  division  into  townships 
and  parishes,  and  of  course  none  of  that  small  municipal  legisla- 
tion and  government,  which  are  of  immense  value  at  the  north,  in 
making  the  people  acquainted  with  each  other,  and  forming  the 
rudiments  of  our  republican  institutions. 

"  2.  The  people,  besides  being  dispersed  over  a  great  surface 
of  territory,  are  much  divided  as  to  religious  profession.  You  will 
find,  for  instance,  a  Presbyterian  here,  and  his  neighbors  will  be 
Baptists  or  Methodists,  and  you  will  have  to  travel  miles  before 
you  find  another  Presbyterian. 

*'  3.  A  general  prejudice  prevails  against  supporting  ministers 
by  a  regular  salary.  This  prejudice  is  so  powerful,  that  it  would 
ruin  the  prospects  of  a  candidate  to  say  any  thing  about  his  sup- 
port. Of  course,  there  can  be  no  dependence  upon  preaching,  as 
a  certain  means  of  maintaining  the  preacher.  Mr.  A.  observed  to 
me  last  evening,  that  when  people  give  something  to  a  minister 
here,  they  do  it  rather  from  friendship,  or  a  warm  personal  attach- 
ment, than  as  a  compensation  for  valuable  services.  The  Metho- 
dists and  Baptists,  that  is,  many  of  them,  preach  vehemently 
against  salaries. 

"  4.  There  is  no  such  thing  in  this  country  as  thoroughness  or 
perseverance  in  any  plan  of  united  and  concentrated  action.  If 
a  good  undertaking  is  begun  to-day,  this  is  no  reason  why  it 
should  not  be  abandoned  tomorrow. 

"  5.  The  ignorance  of  a  large  proportion  of  the  people  is  very 
great.  Many  who  can  read,  are  still  very  poor  readers,  and  in 
fact  read  little  or  nothing.  They  have  few  common  schools,  and 
these  not  very  good. 

"  These  obstacles  appear  so  great,  that  many  persons  have  con- 
cluded  that  this  western  world   must  be  given   over  to  hopeless 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 


197 


ignorance  and  wickedness.  I  am  of  a  different  opinion.  The 
country  is  undoubtedly  improving,  though  not  so  fast  as  Christian 
benevolence  would  desire.  Such  is  the  constitution  of  liuman 
things,  that  moral  changes  cannot  be  effected,  in  a  large  com- 
munity, at  once  ;  but  God  has  abundantly  shown,  I  think,  that  the 
new  settlements  in  the  United  States  are  not  to  be  given  up  to 
spiritual  desolation.  There  is  great  need,  however,  of  public 
spirit,  in  order  to  rescue  the  present  generation  from  vice  and 
ignorance." 

Arriving  on  the  25th  of  March  at  Brainerd,  he  immediately 
commenced  a  course  of  investigation  into  the  state  of  the  mission, 
and  of  consultation  with  its  meinbers,  which  led  to  important 
changes.  A  laborious  week  was  spent  with  ihe  missionaries  there. 
He  made  an  excursion,  occupying  thirteen  days,  to  the  local 
schools  in  different  parts  of  the  nation.  Examples  of  obdurate 
depravity,  ignorance,  and  dissipation  that  he  met  with  among  the 
natives,  affected  him  deeply.  After  lodging  at  the  house  of  a 
Cherokee,  where  instances  of  these  obstacles  to  the  influence  of 
divine  truth  forced  themselves  on  his  attention,  he  remarks  : 

"  It  is  certainly  no  easy  matter  to  reclaim  an  ignorant,  a  vicious, 
and  a  savage  people.  Yet  it  can  be  accomplished,  and  it  will  be 
accomplished.  In  many  places  the  work  may  be  long  and  ar- 
duous ;  in  some  it  may  retrograde ;  but  it  will  ultimately  be 
effectual  every  where.  It  is  very  obvious,  however,  that  nothing 
but  the  promises  of  Scripture  could  have  prompted  to  missionary 
exertions  on  the  part  of  those  who  have  any  just  views  of  the 
human  heart  and  of  the  inveteracy  of  bad  habits.  The  evil  of 
intemperate  drinking  will  hardly  be  restrained  in  any  neighbor- 
hood till  schools  are  established  in  it ;  or  at  least,  till  there  are 
some  means  of  stated  instruction.  On  this  account  it  is  particu- 
larly important  that  the  youths  educated  at  Brainerd  or  elsewhere, 
should  be  competent  to  teach  school,  and  to  bear  a  firm  and  con- 
sistent testimony  against  vice  in  every  shape.  All  our  plans  for 
the  benefit  of  this  people  will  come  to  nothing,  unless  God  be 
pleased  to  continue  the  work  of  genuine  conversion,  which  we 
trust  he  has  begun,  and  of  which  there  are  some  bright  ex- 
amples." 


198  I^^FE   OF  EVARTS. 

He  found  much,  however,  to  encourage  him.  He  met  with 
intelligent  natives  who  appeared  to  be  devotedly  pious,  and  saw 
evidence  that  God  was  calling  others  to  repentance.  He  was 
pleased  with  the  appearance  of  the  recent  converts.  "  The  man- 
ner of  the  Cherokees  who  pray  in  public,"  he  says,  "is  humble 
and  reverential,  and  at  the  greatest  remove  from  any  thing  bois- 
terous or  ostentatious.  They  speak  without  hesitation,  and  in  as 
low  a  tone  as  is  consistent  with  being  heard."  He  had  the  plea- 
sure, also,  of  again  visiting  Mr.  Gambold,  the  Moravian  mission- 
ary, and  of  conversing  with  him  on  various  important  missionary 
subjects,  particularly  those  relating  to  missions  among  the  Chero- 
kees. He  found  this  excellent  rnan  fully  sympathising  with  him 
in  regard  to  their  political  prospects,  and  "  well  aware  that  a 
general  cession  of  territory  would  be  their  certain  destruction,  not 
only  as  a  community,  but  as  individuals." 

After  returning  to  Brainerd  and  another  week  of  severe  labor, 
he  succeeded  in  completing,  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  par- 
ties, the  changes  that  seemed  desirable  in  regard  to  the  location  of 
the  several  mission  families,  and  the  arrangement  of  their  labors. 
He  left  the  nation  with  the  conviction  that  never  before  had  there 
been  so  much  encouragement  to  evangelical  labor  among  the 
Cherokees,  as  then,  and  entreating  the  prayers  of  all,  that  a  bles- 
sing might  follow  the  changes  that  had  been  made. 

It  would  be  natural  to  look  in  his  correspondence  or  among  his 
papers,  after  a  visit  like  this  to  a  people  in  a  state  of  transition 
from  barbarism  to  the  habits  of  civilized  and  Christian  life,  for  a 
full  record  of  the  results  of  his  observations.  Sonie  fragments  of 
the  kind  are  in  fact  at  hand,  written  at  a  midnight  hour,  after  a 
day  of  severe  labor,  or  while  providentially  detained  at  the  dwel- 
ling of  a  rude  and  intoxicated  Indian.  And  when  leaving  Brain- 
erd, he  wrote  to  his  associates  that  he  had  materials  enough  for 
many  letters,  but  expressing  doubt  when,  if  ever,  he  should  be 
able  to  write  them  out.  The  fact  was,  that  he  was  incessantly  at 
work  on  the  business  intrusted  to  him, — business  of  immense  im- 
portance, and  the  weight  of  which  pressed  heavily  upon  him.  His 
remaikable  memory,  with  documents  and  notes  having  immediate 
reference  to  tiiat  business,  would  suffice,  he  knew,  for  the  pur- 
poses of  the  Committee  and  the  Board  ;  and  although  he  delighted 


LIFE   OF   EVARTS.  199 

in  writing,  and  was  ready  to  seize  for  that  purpose  every  moment 
not  otherwise  occupied,  he  found  little  opportunity  even  to  sketch 
the  facts  and  characteristics  that  were  continually  arresting  his 
attention.  The  traveller,  the  philanthropist,  the  man,  were  kept  in 
abeyance  ;  while  every  moment  and  every  faculty  were  devoted  to 
the  duties  of  the  agent.  His  mission  was  discharged  with  all 
faithfulness  and  energy ;  and  a  sufficient  record  of  it  as  a  matter 
of  business,  was  scrupulously  kept.  But  this  was  about  all.  "  It 
may  be  thought,"  he  says  at  a  later  period,  of  his  tour — "  it  may 
be  thought  that  I  should  say  more  about  the  missions.  The  fact 
is,  I  cannot  give  a  fair  representation  in  a  few  sentences.  There 
are  many  encouragements,  and  not  a  few  things  that  ought  to  teach 
us  wisdom.  It  is  not  an  easy  thing  to  conduct  missions.  May  the 
Lord  take  the  cause  under  his  own  special  care  and  protection." 

Having  completed  his   business   among   the   Cherokees,  he  left 
Brainerd  on  the  21st   of  April,  and   hastened   on  to  the  discharge 
of  similar   duties    in   the   Choctaw  nation.     Several   weeks   were 
spent  th^.e,  principally  at  Mayhew,  where  he  met  several  mission- 
aries from  their   stations.     "  There  are  many  things  at  Mayhew," 
he  says,  "  to  please   the  eye  and  cheer  the  heart  of  the  Christian 
traveller.     The  natural  scenery  is  both  grand  and   beautiful.     As 
one  approaches  the   mission   houses,  either   from   the  east  or   the 
south,  the  whole  aspect  of  surrountling  objects  is  fitted    to  awaken 
lofty  and  solemn  thoughts.      A  prairie  of  unequalled  magnificence, 
covered  with  luxuriant   vegetation,  and   skirted  with  the  forests  of 
many  centuries,   invites  even    the   careless   to   admire   the  varied 
works  of  God.     In  the  margin  of  this  delightful  amphitheatre,  rise 
the  habitations  of  those  messengers  of  peace  who  have  taken  up 
their   abode   with   uncivilized  men  for  the  sake  of  their  spiritual 
good.    Here  is  agriculture,  beginning  to  call  forth  the  riches  of  the 
soil ;  and  the  mechanic  arts,  promoting  the  comfort  and  resources 
of  the  people  ;    and  schools,  training    the  young  to   principles  of 
knowledge  and  virtue  ;   and  the  church,  the  pillar   and   ground  of 
the  truth,  receiving  converts  from  heathenism  and  preparing  them 
for  Heaven." 

The  investigations  and  arrangements  of  his  laborious  agency- 
having  been  completed,  he  returned  by  way  of  Natchez  and  New 
Orleans, — taking  passage  thence  to  New  York  early  in  June.  Dur- 


200  ^^^E   ^^  EVARTS. 

ing  this  tour,  he  says,  "  I  stood  by  the  grave  of  Catharine  Brown, 
visited  her  relatives,  saw  abundant  proofs  of  the  increase  of  reli- 
gion in  the  Cherokee  nation,  and  conferred  with  all  the  mission- 
aries on  the  condition  of  their  respective  stations.  Every  mission 
has  its  troubles  and  difficulties  ;  and  the  truth  is  very  manifest  in 
all  parts  of  the  earth,  that  "  except  the  Lord  build  the  house,  they 
labor  in  vain  that  build  it." 

The  remainder  of  the  year  was  spent  chiefly  at  home,  in  the 
usual  dulies'of  liis  office  ;  with  the  additional  labor,  however,  of 
employing  several  agents  in  the  formation  of  auxiliaries  and  associ- 
ations, and  the  preparation  of  several  tracts  to  assist  in  the  same 
object  of  a  more  general  organization  in  aid  of  the  Board.  A  few 
extracts  from  his  correspondence  will  close  the  chapter.  The  first 
relates  to  general  topics  of  missionary  duty  ;  others,  to  an  inter- 
ruption of  missionary  labors  through  the  violence  of  wicked  men  ; 
and  the  last  is  to  the  bereaved  widow  of  a  missionary.  They 
show  with  what  care  he  watched  to  promote  the  well-being  and 
usefulness  of  missionaries,  and  how  tenderly  he  sympathized  in 
their  trials. 

TO    REV.    CEPHAS    WASHBURN. 

Natchez,  May  28, 1824. 

"Missions  to  the  heathen  are  established  with  a  view  to  the  sal- 
vation of  perishing  souls.  The  object  is  altogether  a  religious 
one,  and  it  should  be  held  continually  in  view.  Piety  should  be 
cultivated  in  all  the  members  of  a  mission  family,  and  by  all  the 
means  which  are  conducive  to  that  end.  Still  it  is  evident,  that 
much  labor  of  the  hands,  and  much  care  and  reflection  must  be 
applied  to  secular  things,  in  order  that  any  mission  may  be  prosper- 
ous ;  and  especially  is  this  the  case  with  missions  where  boarding 
schools  are  maintained.  This  secular  labor  must  be  undertaken 
and  peiformed  from  religious  motives;  and  being  thus  performed, 
it  should  proceed  with  as  much  alacrity,  vigor,  and  perseverance, 
as  are  exercised  by  prudent  men  in  any  worldly  pursuit. 

"  As  missions  are  supported  at  great  expense,  economy  in  the 
use  of  money,  time,  and  labor,  is  of  very  great  importance.  This 
should  be  esteemed  an  indispensable  duty,  whether  the  circum- 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  201 

Stances  and  wishes  of  donors,  the  obhgations  of  the  Board  to  the 
Christian  community,  or  the  wants  of  the  heathen  are  considered. 

"  To  promote  economy  in  the  use  of  money,  the  following  sug- 
gestions, with  reference  to  all  our  Indian  missions,  may  be  of  use. 
It  is  to  be  considered,  that  these  missions  have  been  supplied  by 
the  liberality  of  the  Christian  public  in  a  more  abundant  manner, 
probably,  than  any  other  missions  supported  by  Protestant  Chris- 
tendom. In  keeping  up  the  establishments  already  formed,  it  may 
be  well  to  observe  the  following  rules  ;  viz. 

"1.  In  all  purchases  for  the  use  of  a  mission,  let  the  inquiry  be, 
What  can  we  do  without,  consistently  ivith  health  and  the  advan- 
tageous prosecution  of  our  worJc  1  and  not,  fVhat  ivould  be  agree- 
able to  us  1  The  first  inquiry  is  made  of  necessity  by  ninety-nine 
hundredths  of  the  human  race  ;  or  rather  an  inquiry  much  more 
moderate  and  humble.  And  even  in  the  most  favored  parts  of  the 
Ciiristian  world,  and  among  the  most  industrious  of  the  people, 
their  expenses  are  all  the  while  limited  by  necessity,  making  slow 
and  gradual  advances  to  comfort  and  convenience.  Shall  mission- 
aries wish  to  be  better  supj)Iied  than  the  immense  multitude  of 
their  brethren,  even  in  those  places  where  prudence  and  industry 
meet  with  their  best  reward  ?  The  fewer  articles  there  are  on 
hand,  the  less  time  and  care  are  necessary  to  prevent  loss  and 
waste.  I  have  always  found,  when  on  journeys,  that  the  fewer 
articles  I  have  had  with  me,  the  more  comfortably  I  have  got 
along.    Missionaries  are  pilgrims. 

"2.  Let  there  be  as  little  hired  labor  as  possible.  Before  any 
person  is  hired,  let  it  be  rendered  as  certain  as  the  nature  of  hu- 
man things  will  admit,  that  the  labor  will  be  profitable,  and  will 
redound  to.  the  substantial  interest  of  the  establishment.  And 
during  the  progress  of  the  labor,  let  this  be  held  continually  in 
view  ;  and,  whenever  it  is  found  that  labor  is  unprofitable,  discon- 
tinue it. 

"3.  Be  careful  with  whom  you  Intrust  property,  either  in  greater 
or  smaller  sums. 

"In   regard  to  economy  o(  time,  let  it  be  considered,  that  oppor 
tunities  of  doing  good  are  fleeting  and  uncertain  ;  that  every  year 
is  immensely  important   to  our  Indian  tribes ;  that  the  commence- 
ment of  other  missions   to   the   Aborigines  depends   much  on  the 
26 


202  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

success  of  those  which  are  now  in  existence ;  and  that  the  real 
conversion  of  the  natives  should  not  be  lost  sight  of,  as  the  mark 
at  which  you  are  aiming.  Your  duties  should,  therefore,  be  so  as- 
signed and  divided,  that  all  the  time  may  be  perfectly  occupied, 
and  none  of  it  be  permitted  to  escape  without  answering  some 
valuable  end. 

"  As  to  economy  of  labor,  what  I  would  principally  call  your 
attention  to,  is  the  duty  of  so  arranging  all  your  business,  that  there 
shall  not  be  any  unnecessary  labor,  either  of  your  own  hands,  or 
of  persons  hired.  It  should  be  an  object,  therefore,  to  avoid,  or 
rather  save,  labor  in  regard  to  things  where  it  has  been  thought  ne- 
cessary. Very  great  improvements  can  frequently  be  made  in 
this  matUsr,  without  encroaching  upon  the  claims  of  neatness  or 
comfort.  Provided  these  two  objects  are  secured,  there  should  be 
little  sacrifice  for  any  thing  further ;  nor  should  even  comfort  be 
insisted  on  as  indispensable.  Many  of  the  servants  of  God,  in 
every  age,  have  labored  in  very  uncomfortable  circumstances. 
But  with  care,  industry,  and  patience,  it  will  rarely  happen  that 
comfort  will,  for  a  long  time,  be  withheld  from  a  faithful  mission- 
ary. 

*'  The  more  I  become  acquainted  with  missionary  concerns,  the 
more  deeply  impressed  my  mind  becomes  with  the  truth,  that 
there  must  be  self-denial,  there  must  be  arduous  labor,  there 
must  be  watchful  care,  there  must  be  unremitting  diligence,  in  order 
to  the  successful  prosecution  of  the  missionary  work.  It  is  not 
an  easy  matter  to  raise  up  the  ignorant  to  knowledge  and  virtue, 
to  reclaim  the  wicked,  and  to  minister  in  bringing  to  life  and 
holiness  those  who  were  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins.  This  labor 
will  beget  fatigue,  and  sometimes  sickness  ;  all  which  is  to  be 
meekly  and  quietly  received,  as  part  of  the  dealings  of  a  wise  and 
holy  Providence. 

"  Permit  me  to  say,  my  dear  sir,  that  I  shall  long  remember  with 
pleasure  and  gratitude  the  interesting  hours  and  days  which  we 
spent  together,  in  the  course  of  our  late  journey  ;  and  that  I  feel 
a  personal  attachment  which  can  only  arise  from  personal  ac- 
quaintance. May  the  Lord  preserve  you,  and  enable  you  to 
serve  him  acceptably,  and  make  you  a  blessing  to  the  heathen." 


LIFE   OF   EVARTS.  203 

REV.    CYRUS    KINGSBURY,    CHOCTAWS. 

Boston,  December  7, 1S24. 

"  You  have  experienced  a  great  loss  in  the  death  of  Mr.  Mose- 
ley.  He  was  a  man  of  an  excellent  spirit,  and  of  true  devoted- 
ness.  I  little  thought,  when  we  were  consulting  last  May,  that  he 
would  be  the  first  to  be  called  from  his  work.  Let  his  goodness, 
faith,  and  patience  stimulate  survivors  to  a  faithful  discharge  of 
their  respective  trusts. 

"  The  concerns  of  the  Indian  missions  lie  with  great  weight 
upon  my  mind.  Their  situation  is  very  critical.  I  do  not  appre- 
hend them  in  immediate  danger  of  extinction  ;  but,  unless  1  mis- 
take, they  are  in  great  danger  of  coming  far  short  of  our  hopes, 
and  of  what  might  be  deemed  our  reasonable  expectations  ;  I 
mean,  the  reasonable  expectations  of  the  Christian  public,  consid- 
ering the  encouraging  appearances  held  out,  and  the  vast  expenses 
incurred. 

"The  question  recurs,  how  shall  this  danger  be  averted?  Let 
this  question  be  well  pondered.  The  Lord  must  build  the  house, 
or  it  will  never  be  built.  But  how  will  he  build  it  ?  In  my  opin- 
ion, he  will  build  it  by  an  improved  character,  a  more  holy  and 
self-denying  service,  in  those  whom  he  employs  in  every  depart- 
ment of  the  work.  I  do  not  believe  a  mere  alteration  of  plan 
will  do  much.  Some  improvements,  suggested  by  experience, 
may  be  valuable ;  but  the  great  improvement  to  be  desired,  in  the 
Christian  public,  in  the  Committee,  in  preaching  and  assistant 
missionaries,  is,  greater  love  for  the  souls  of  the  heathen,  which 
will  lead  to  a  more  active,  cheerful,  and  successful  prosecution  of 
the  work. 

"  May  the  Lord  deliver  us  from  our  weakness,  and  supply  our 
manifold  deficiencies,  and  save  the  souls  of  the  poor  benighted 
heathen,  for  his  name's  sake  ;   and  to  Him  shall  be  the  glory." 

TO    MR.    MOODY    HALL,    CHEROKEES. 

Boston,  August  20, 1824. 

"  I  do  not  wonder  that  you  were  greatly  alarmed  at  the  attack 
of  Pritchett ;  and  especially  that  Mrs.  Hall  had  distressing  appre- 


204  I^I^E   OF  EVARTS. 

hensions.  But  now  that  you  have  had  time  to  examine  and  n- 
sider,  1  do  strongly  hope  that  you  will  not  be  driven  into  precip- 
itate measures.  The  whole  interruption  I  consider  to  be  the  work 
of  the  devil,  to  prevent  the  salvation  of  souls;  and  I  exhort  you 
not  to  give  place  to  the  devil.  If  you  do,  he  will  drive  you  from 
one  place  to  another,  till  he  drives  you  out  of  your  employment, 
and  far  away  from  the  service  of  God.  Mrs.  Hall  will  consider 
that  she  is  under  the  divine  protection  ;  that  no  evil  can  come  near 
her,  but  by  permission  of  her  heavenly  Father  ;  and  that  all  things 
shall  work  together  for  good  to  those  who  love  God — to  those  who 
are  called  according  to  his  purpose.  I  exhort  her  to  possess  her 
soul  in  patience. 

"  I  feel  very  solicitous  respecting  your  new  converts,  and  pray 
that  you  and  Mr.  Butrick  may  have  the  wisdom  to  advise,  direct, 
and  exhort  them  in  such  a  manner,  that,  by  the  grace  of  God,  they 
may  all  stand  firm." 

TO  THE  CHEROKEE  CONVERTS  WHO  HAVE  BEEN  UNITED  IN  THE 
CHURCH  AT  CARMEL. 

Boston,  August  21,  1S24. 

"  I  cannot  begin  my  letter  to  you  without  speaking  of  the  good- 
ness of  God  to  you  in  sending  you  the  gospel,  and  in  causing  you 
to  hear  it,  and  inclining  your  hearts  to  receive  it.  Unite  with  me 
in  giving  thanks  to  God  for  his  unspeakable  gift. 

"  The  assault  made  upon  Mr.  Hall,  on  the  26th  of  April  last, 
was  heard  of  by  me  with  sorrow.  The  painful  apprehensions 
which  he  and  his  family  suffered,  are  much  to  be  regretted,  as 
they  broke  off  his  useful  labors  for  a  season,  and  cast  a  cloud  over 
the  station.  Let  me  exhort  you,  brethren  and  sisters,  to  some 
duties  which  present  circumstances  call  for. 

''  In  the  first  place,  1  doubt  not  you  will  treat  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Hall  with  particular  kindness  and  attention.  Christianity  makes 
men  kind  to  each  other.  Especially  should  the  professors  of  re- 
ligion be  kind  to  their  teachers,  and  to  those  who  have  devoted 
their  lives  to  the  service  of  Christ  as  missionaries.  Study,  there- 
fore, I  beseech  you,  those  things  which  will  promote  the  comfort 
and  happiness  of  your  teachers.     Endeavor  to  render  them  more 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  205 

and  more  useful.  Add  your  influences  to  theirs.  You  will  not 
fail,  I  hope,  to  bear  a  decided  testimony  against  all  disorderly 
conduct.  Teach  the  young  what  evils  come  from  bad  company, 
profaneness  and  drinking.  Do  all  in  your  power  to  make  your 
settlement  distinguished  for  order,  sobriety,  and  good  morals. 

"  Again.  I  exhort  you  to  a  life  of  purity,  industry,  sobriety, 
and  prayer.  The  time  of  our  sojourning  here  is  short.  The  day 
of  the  Lord  is  at  hand.  Soon  we  shall  appear  before  him.  All 
our  thoughts  will  then  be  known  ;  all  our  motives  will  then  be 
examined.  May  the  Lord  enable  us  to  see  that  day  with  joy,  and 
not  with  grief.  You  did  well  that  you  invited  Mr,  Hall  to  return. 
May  his  return  be  blessed  to  you  and  your  children." 

TO    MRS.    S.    C.    MOSELEY,    CHOCTAWS. 

Boston,  December  7,  1824. 

"The  hand  of  the  Lord  has  indeed  been  laid  heavily  upon  you, 
and  you  have  tasted  of  the  cup  of  sorrow.  For  a  time  you  may 
have  nearly  sunk  under  the  weight  of  affliction.  We  sympathize 
with  you  in  your  trials,  and  pray  that  the  Lord  may  cause  all  that 
has  befallen  you  to  work  together  for  your  good.  And  this  I 
doubt  not  he  will  do  ;  for  I  trust  you  are  among  his  friends,  among 
the  called  according  to  his  purpose.  Amidst  all  your  distresses, 
how  numerous  are  the  mercies  you  have  enjoyed  !  The  great  and 
crowning  mercy  is,  the  confident  assurance  that  your  dearest  earth- 
ly friend  has  entered  into  a  state  of  perfect  enjoyment,  of  uninter- 
rupted holiness  and  joy.  Add  to  this  the  reflection  that  God 
knew  the  best  time  and  manner  for  his  removal,  and  is  able  to 
answer  by  it  his  unknown  purposes  of  love  and  grace.  Your 
plans  of  domestic  happiness  are  indeed  interrupted  ;  but  you  may 
yet  be  able  to  see  that  it  was  for  your  improvement  in  the  divine 
life,  and  preparation  for  higher  employments,  when  you  shall  be 
united  to  your  departed  consort  in  the  world  of  the  blessed.  When 
I  saw  Mr.  Moseley  at  Mayhew,  and  consulted  with  him  and  the 
other  missionaries,  1  little  thought  he  would  be  summoned  away 
from  his  labors  so  soon.  His  health  appeared  better  to  me  than 
it  was  in  fact.  I  should  have  judged  him  very  likely  to  live  to 
old  age.    But  the  Lord  seeth  not  as  man  seeth.    With  him  our  days 


206  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

are  numbered,  and  he  fixes  the  bounds  of  our  habitation.  I  can- 
not avoid  bearing  testimony  to  the  excellent  spirit  which  I  think 
was  in  our  departed  friend  and  brother.  His  temper  was  amiable 
and  candid  ;  he  expressed  his  opinions  with  modesty  and  with 
decision  ;  his  eye  was  single,  and  his  great  object  was  the  appro- 
bation of  his  Master.  His  truly  missionary  example  will  long  be 
remembered  by  his  associates.  They  will,  as  I  trust,  profit  by  it. 
And  now,  dear  madam,  what  remains,  but  to  commit  yourself  and 
all  your  interests  into  the  hands  of  your  heavenly  Father,  with 
steadfast  faith  ?  Ask  of  him  wisdom  and  a  truly  devoted  spirit, 
that  you  may  serve  him  acceptably  in  whatever  sphere  you  may 
be  called  to  act.  Soon  our  opportunities  of  service  will  be  over. 
Let  us  do  what  we  can  for  that  blessed  Saviour,  who  has  done  so 
much  for  us.  To  be  a  successful  missionary  requires  not  only 
much  piety,  but  much  activity  and  diligence  and  patient,  perse- 
vering labor.  In  no  other  way  can  the  ignorant  be  instructed,  so 
as  to  be  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  gospel  plan  of  salvation. 
Much  preparatory  service  is  necessary  in  order  to  authorize  a  hope 
that  saving  truth  may  be  communicated.  It  gave  me  pleasure  to 
hear  that  you  had  accompanied  Mr.  Smith  to  Eliot  with  the  de- 
sign of  teaching  a  school  there.  May  the  Lord  give  you  some 
immortal  souls  from  among  the  young  Choctaw  females,  as  the 
rev/ard  of  faithful  exertions  and  importunate  prayers. 

"  I  am,  dear  madam,  with  affectionate  remembrance  to  the 
brethren  and  sisters  at  Eliot,  yours  in  the  gospel,  which  alone  can 
bring  true  consolation." 


CHAPTER  VI, 


CORRESPONDING    SECRETARY.     1S25— 1S27. 


BEroRE  the  end  of  January,  1825,  the  labors  of  Mr.  Evarts 
were  again  interrupted,  to  considerable  extent,  by  ill  health  ;  and 
by  advice  of  his  physician  he  sought  relief  in  a  warmer  climate, 
and  took  passage  for  Charleston,  South  Carolina.  During  the 
voyage,  he  prepared  for  the  Missionary  Herald  a  characteristic 
article  on  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society.  After  details 
respecting  the  funds  and  operations  of  the  Society,  collected  from 
its  latest  Report,  he  proceeds,  in  the  tone  of  devoted  Christian 
philanthropy  that  with  him  had  become  habitual  : 

"  It  is  gratifying  to  observe  the  zeal,  enterprise,  and  persever- 
ance, by  which  this  institution  has  been  raised  to  such  a  state  of 
prosperity.  There  are  many  facts  in  its  history,  not  only  in  a  high 
degree  honorable  to  its  patrons  and  conductors,  but  very  encour- 
aging to  the  conductors  of  other  religious  charities.  The  point  has 
now  been  settled  by  actual  experiment,  that  large  sums  of  money 
can  be  raised  in  voluntary  contributions,  with  a  good  degree  of 
regularity,  through  a  series  of  years,  for  the  promotion  of  the  spiri- 
tual interests  of  mankind.  It  has  been  proved,  also,  that  an  asso- 
ciation of  individuals  may  call  to  its  aid  such  an  amount  of  talent, 
character,  and  public  spirit,  as  shall  secure  the  respect  and  confi- 
dence of  an  intelligent  community,  notwithstanding  the  opposition 
of  men  of  perverted  minds.  There  seems  to  be  no  inherent  dif- 
ficulty in  enlarging  these  operations  to  any  extent  which  shall  be 
necessary  or  desirable.  Let  the  energies  of  Christendom  be 
directed  to  the  moral  renovation  of  the  human  race,  and  greater 
things  will  be  accomplished,  both  as   to  means  and  results,  labors 


208  L^^E  0^  EVARTS. 

and  successes,  designs  and  achievements,  than  the  most  sanguine 
friends  of  Bible  and  Missionary  Societies  have  ever  conceived. 

"  It  is  a  very  happy  circumstance  attending  the  exertions  of  this 
great  institution,  that  much  the  larger  portion  of  its  funds  is  sup- 
j)lied  by  the  poor,  and  those  who,  if  not  poor,  are  yet  far  removed 
from  affluence.  It  would  be  easy  for  a  few  rich  men  to  contribute 
a  much  larger  sum  than  has  yet  been  received ;  but  nothing  could 
be  more  imhappy  than  for  the  rich  to  be  the  only  persons  who 
should  feel  themselves  called  upon  to  take  part  in  religious  char- 
ities. There  are  some  who  seem  to  lament  that  a  poor  man 
should  even  be  invited  to  take  any  part  in  those  labors  of  love, 
which  are  designed  to  honor  his  Saviour,  and  promote  the  salva- 
tion of  his  fellow  men.  Never  was  compassion  more  misplaced. 
It  is,  indeed,  a  shallow  philosophy,  which  supposes  that  a  poor 
man  is  a  loser,  either  as  to  present  enjoyment  or  future  hopes,  by 
cheerfully  giving  a  part  of  his  earnings  to  purchase  a  Bible  for  his 
family,  or  to  send  one  to  a  distant  stranger.  The  fact  is  unques- 
tionable, that  a  habit  of  earning  and  saving  money  for  religious 
charity  is  a  most  prolific  source  of  enjoyment.  It  cannot  be  other- 
wise. The  design  is  elevated,  and  imparts  its  dignity  to  the  mind 
of  a  poor  man,  as  easily  as  to  the  mind  of  a  rich  man.  The  af- 
fections called  into  exercise  are  benevolent,  and  tend  only  to  hap- 
piness. The  man  who  sincerely  endeavors  to  do  good  to  his  fel- 
low men,  always  receives  an  ample  reward.  Especially  is  this 
the  case  when  he  consults  their  highest  interests,  in  the  use  of 
divinely  appointed  means,  and  from  evangelical  motives.  It  would 
be  equally  absurd  and  cruel,  therefore,  to  debar  the  poor  man  the 
privilege  of  casting  his  mite  into  the  treasury  of  the  Lord.  Rather 
ought  he  to  be  encouraged  to  make  larger  and  still  larger  offerings, 
as  God  shall  enable  him ;  for  it  may  be  safely  affirmed,  that  no 
one  who  pursues  this  course,  will  have  occasion  to  regret  it,  either 
here  or  hereafter. 

"  These  voluntary  contributions,  collected  from  so  many  thous- 
ands of  individuals,  and  mostly  in  small  sums,  cannot  be  obtained 
without  great  exertions  in  the  way  of  solicitation,  the  institution 
of  auxiliary  societies,  the  attending  of  annual  meetings,  and  the 
distribution  of  the  Society's  publications.  In  the  cities  and  large 
towns  throughout  Great  Britain,  committees  of  ladies  and  gentle- 
men spend  much  time  in  sohciting  subscriptions  and  calling  to  re- 
ceive the  payment.  In  some  cities,  perhaps  in  many,  ladies  call 
weekly  on  the  poor  to  receive  their  subscriptions  of  a  penny  a 
week.  Many  distinguished  clergymen  take  journeys,  make  ad- 
dresses, and  excite  the  friends  of  the  Society  to  continued  exer- 
tions. One  gentleman,  Mr.  C.  S.  Dudley,  has  been  employed  for 
several  years  as  an  agent,  in  forming  and  visiting  societies  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  England.  The  secretaries,  assistant  secretaries, 
and  clerks,  must  employ  much  of  their  time  in  the  various  business 
of  raising  funds,  as  well  as  in  the  extensive  con-esjjondencc  of  the 
Society.  All  this  labor  must  be  continued  and  increased,  if  the 
operations  of  the  Society  are  continued  and  increased.  The 
friends  of  religious  charities  must  not  complain,  therefore,  if  they 


LIFE  OF  EVARTS.  209 

find  agencies  necessary,  unless  they  would  renounce  the  objects  of 
their  attachment  and  abandon  them  for  ever.  Without  agents  the 
business  cannot  be  done  at  all.  Without  numerous,  active,  de- 
voted, public-spirited  agents,  it  cannot  be  done  effectually. 

"  In  this  view  of  the  subject,  those  who  are  engaged,  either 
statedly  or  occasionally,  in  soliciting  the  charities  of  others,  should 
take  encouragement  to  proceed  without  relaxation  in  their  work. 
Their  part  of  the  process  is  as  important  as  that  of  the  printer  or 
the  translator  of  the  Scriptures,  or  the  missionary  among  the 
heathen. 

"  We  are  unwilling  to  close  these  remarks  without  adverting  to 
the  small  proportion  which  the  money  expended  in  religious  char- 
ity bears  to  that  which  is  paid  for  various  other  objects.  The  an- 
nual income  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  is  thought 
to  be  a  large  sura ;  and  it  certainly  is  not  a  small  one  :  but  it  is  but 
about  a  7iine  hundredth  imrt  of  the  annual  war  expenses  of  Great 
Britain,  during  several  years  of  the  late  European  contest;  and 
less  than  a  three  hundredth  part  of  the  annual  interest  now  paid  by 
that  nation  on  its  war  debt.  If  the  sum  annually  raised  by  the 
Bible  Society  were  divided  among  all  the  families  in  the  United 
Kingdom,  it  would  afford  about  ten  cents  to  each  family  ;  whereas 
the  amount  annually  paid,  during  a  series  of  years,  for  the  support 
of  the  late  war,  was  not  less  than  ninetij  dollars  to  each  family ; 
and  the  present  annual  interest  of  the  war  debt  is  thirty  dollars 
or  more,  probably  thirty-five  dollars,  to  each  family.  Now  it  would 
be  as  practicable,  ivere  the  people  so  inclined,  to  spendninety  dollars 
for  cachfamihj  through  a  series  of  years,  for  the  distribution  of  the 
Bible,  the  support  of  missionaries,  the  circulation  of  tracts,  the 
rehgious  education  of  the  poor,  and  other  similar  purposes,  as  it 
was  to  spend  the  same  sum  for  carrying  on  a  war.  We  would  not 
be  understood  as  saying  that  it  would  be  practicable  to  bear 
both  classes  of  expense,  to  this  full  extent,  at  the  same  time. 
But,  in  the  nature  of  things,  it  would  be  as  easy  for  a  great  popu- 
lous nation  to  make  a  decided  and  vigorous  demonstration  of  its 
power  and  its  resources  for  the  honor  of  God  and  the  salvation  of 
men,  as  it  is  for  the  same  nation  to  make  a  like  demonstration  of 
its  power  in  supporting  a  popular  war,  or  defending  itself  from  a 
threatened  invasion.  Nor  would  we  be  understood  to  inti- 
mate how  large  a  sum  might  be  wisely  expended  in  the  great  and 
stupendous  process  of  meliorating  the  moral  condition  of  man ; 
evidently,  however,  a  much  larger  sum  than  has  ever  yet  been  de- 
voted to  this  purpose.  The  men  of  future  times  will  have  the 
largeness  of  heart,  and  those  results  of  experience,  which  will 
enable  them  to  direct  the  energies  of  wiser  and  more  enlightened 
generations  than  have  yet  lived  upon  earth.  To  them  may  be 
left  the  plans  and  estimates  of  that  vast  moral  machinery,  which 
is  to  affect  the  millions  of  the  human  race. 

"  But  to  return  from  this  digression ; — though  war  is  the  most 
expensive  of  all  the  favorite  pursuits  of  man,  there  are  various 
other  ways  of  spending  money,  which  absorb  enormous  sums, 
compared  with  which,  the  religious  charities  of  the  day  are  a  trifle. 

27 


210  LIFE  OF  EVARTS. 

There  are  several  great  landholders  in  Great  Britain,  and  several 
capitalists  in  its  metropolis,  each  of  whom  has  an  income  greater 
than  that  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  ;  and  it  is  quite 
moderate  to  say  that  the  sums  expended  by  the  rich  in  luxurious 
living,  and  by  them  and  others  in  various  kinds  of  intemperance 
and  gross  vice,  is  one  or  two  hundred  times  greater  than  the  aggre- 
gate of  all  that  is  paid  to  the  Bible  Society,  and  to  missionary  So- 
cieties, with  all  their  kindred  institutions. 

"  To  form  some  judgment  of  what  might  be  accomplished,  in  the 
way  of  charity,  by  the  people  of  the  British  Islands,  let  the  follow- 
ing view  be  taken. 

"1.  Let  us  suppose  that  the  j9oor  ow/?/ were  to  take  hold  of  the 
business  of  religious  charity  ;  but  that  they  were  to  do  it  with  the 
utmost  zeal  and  alacrity — with  the  same  spirit  which  actuated  the 
poor  widow  in  the  Gospel,  whose  liberality  is  commemorated  and 
approved  by  our  Saviour  himself; — with  the  same  alacrity  which 
enabled  the  Jews  under  Nehemiah's  direction  to  complete  the  wall 
of  the  rising  city,  the  rapid  progress  of  which  undertaking  is  suf- 
ficiently accounted  for,  when  the  sacred  historian  says, /or  the  peo- 
ple had  a  mind  to  work ; — with  that  patience  which  supports  men 
in  the  pursuit  of  an  object  dear  to  their  heart,  and  attainable  by 
their  exertions  ; — and  with  that  just  estimate,  which  prefers  the 
pearl  of  great  price  to  all  other  acquisitions. 

There  are  probably  in  the  British  Islands  not  far  from  four  mil- 
lions of  families  ;  of  whom,  in  the  present  prosperous  times,  not 
more  than  one  tenth  are  paupers.  Let  the  dividing  line  between 
the  rich,  the  middling,  and  the  poorer  classes,  be  so  drawn  as  to 
include  100,000  families  in  the  first  class,  500,000  in  the  second, 
and  3,000,000  in  the  third.  Now  if  these  three  millions  of  families 
were  to  appropriate  to  public  works  of  beneficence  all  that  could 
be  saved  by  abandoning  every  vice,  how  vast  would  be  the 
amount  received  !  If  there  were  no  intemperate  drinking,  no 
gaming,  no  quarrelling,  no  litigation,  no  lewdness,  no  idleness;  and 
all  this  multitude  were  industriously  employed  in  providing  for  their 
own  wants,  and  then  in  earning  and  saving  for  the  cause  of 
Christ,  who  does  not  see  that  their  united  contributions  would  form 
an  aggregate  of  many  millions  ? 

"2.  If  the  500,000  families  in  middling  circumstances  were  to 
put  forth  their  full  strength  in  the  prosecution  of  the  same  work, 
the  result  would  be  still  greater.  There  are  few  who  could  not 
give  their  tens,  and  many  could  give  their  hundreds.  It  is  to  be 
remembered  that  this  class  of  persons  contains  a  large  part  of  the 
moral  and  intellectual  force  of  every  country.  Here  is  enterprise, 
here  is  industry,  which,  in  the  ordinary  course  of  Divine  Provi- 
dence, will  command  success. 

"  3.  There  remain  100,000  families  of  the  rich,  possessing  a 
greater  amount  of  wealth  than  any  equal  number  of  families  in 
any  nation  upon  earth.  Here  is  the  opulent  landholder,  whose 
rents  surpass  the  revenues  o^  petty  States.  Here  is  the  great 
banker,  who  lends  money  to  the  crowned  heads  of  Europe,  and 
the  republican  governments  of  America.     Here  is  the  merchant, 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  211 

whose  ships  visit  every  country,  and  exchange  the  commodities  of 
every  climate  ;  and  here  the  enterprising  manufacturer,  whose 
skill  and  capital  employ  the  industry  of  thousands.  Every  head 
of  a  family  in  this  class  could  give  his  hundreds;  inany  their 
thousands  ;  some  their  tens  of  thousands.  If  all  the  individuals 
of  this  class  were  actuated  by  the  enlarged  liberality  of  Zaccheus, 
when  he  said,  half  my  goods  I  give  to  tke  poor ;  if  they  were  dis- 
posed to  comply  with  the  spirit  of  our  Saviour's  direction,  sell  that 
ye  have  and  give  alms ;  if  they  were  as  much  alive  to  the  moral 
condition  of  the  world,  as  the  wealthy  man  is  to  the  rise  of  stocks, 
or  the  state  of  the  market ;  if  they  took  as  much  pleasure  in  aid- 
ing sinners  to  escape  from  the  wrath  to  come  and  arrive  at  heaven, 
as  many  of  them  do  in  erecting  and  embellishing  country  houses, 
or  making  and  supporting  expensive  gardens,  or  accumulating 
money  in  the  funds  :  in  a  word,  if  it  were  their  meat  and  their 
drink  to  do  the  will  of  their  heavenly  Father,  nothing  could  be 
more  easy,  than  to  furnish  resources  without  a  parallel  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  world. 

''  It  may  be  said  that  such  a  state  of  things  as  is  here  supposed, 
would  change  the  whole  face  of  human  society,  and  alter  many  of 
the  pursuits  of  man.  True ;  and  it  would  alter  them  all  for  the 
belter.  It  would  take  countless  millions  of  mankind  from  trifling, 
frivolous,  and  vicious  pursuits,  and  employ  them  in  a  course  of  well 
directed,  manly,  and  vigorous  industry ;  and  would  make  all  their 
labor,  instead  of  being  wasted,  as  much  of  it  now  is,  in  vanity  and 
folly,  bear  uj)on  the  present  comfort  and  future  hopes  of  the  world. 
We  do  not  say  this  rashly ;  but  profess  the  fullest  confidence  in 
being  able  to  prove  it,  whenever  occasion  offers,  or  the  time  will 
permit. 

"  We  have  made  the  preceding  calculations  with  reference  to 
Great  Britain,  because  she  is  so  highly  favored  as  to  give  the  prin- 
cipal examples  of  a  widely  extended  and  persevering  Christian 
beneficence.  But,  considering  the  public  burdens  resting  upon  that 
nation,  it  is  much  easier  for  the  people  of  the  United  States  to 
raise  any  moderate  sum  for  rehgious  charity,  say  five  millions  of 
dollars  in  a  year,  than  for  the  people  of  Great  Britain  to  raise  the 
same  sum.  In  one  sense,  both  are  perfectly  and  equally  easy ; 
that  is,  if  all  who  are  able,  were  inclined  to  give.  In  that  case,  it 
would  be  as  easy  for  either  nation  to  raise  such  a  sum,  as  it  is  for 
a  healthy  man  to  walk  or  to  breathe.  But,  in  another  sense,  a 
respectable  sum  cannot  be  raised  without  considerable  sacrifice 
of  time,  and  labor,  and  influence,  on  the  part  of  the  more  liberal 
and  public-spirited.  Take  the  matter  as  it  would  prove  in  fact, 
and  the  people  of  the  United  States  are  more  able  to  take  a  vig- 
orous part  in  promoting  the  moral  renovation  of  the  world,  than 
the  people  of  any  other  country  that  the  sun  shines  upon.  The 
means  of  our  people  being  great,  and  the  motives  imperative,  the 
path  of  duty  is  plain.  Oh  that  the  Lord  would  give  a  disposition 
to  walk  in  it." 


212  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

At  Charleston  he  was  industriously  employed  in  arrangements 
for  the  departure  of  a  mission  family  (Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wright  of  the 
Choctaw  mission)  to  their  field  of  labor ;  in  writing  the  Annual 
Report,  and  in  other  official  labors.  Soon  after  the  article  on  the 
Bible  Society,  also,  followed  another  of  kindred  spirit,  relating  to 
an  individual  in  humble  life,  whose  example  of  Christian  liberality 
Mr.  Evarts  had  always  regarded  with  lively  interest,  and  now  held 
up  before  the  friends  of  missions,  in  the  hope  that  it  might  do 
something  towards  awakening  a  like  spirit  in  others.* 

From  Charleston  he  made  a  brief  visit  to  Augusta  (in  company 
^  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wright,  on  their  way  to  the  scene  of  their 
mission)  and  to  Savannah  on  missionary  business  ;  and  soon  after  his 
return,  he  took  passage  for  New  York.  During  his  absence  he  had 
received  intelligence  of  the  death  of  his  youngest  daughter,  a  very 
dear  and  lovely  child ;  and  every  feeling  of  the  parent's  and  hus- 
band's heart  urged  him  immediately  home.  But  the  interests  of 
the  Board  required  his  attention  in  New  York  and  Philadelphia, 
and  it  w^as  not  till  late  in  May  that  he  reached  Boston. 

A  few  passages  from  his  journal  and  correspondence  will  show 
what  most  interested  him  during  these  first  five  months  of  the 
year : 

TO    AN    AGENT    OF    THE    BOARD, 

Boston,  February  7,  1825. 

"  I  greatly  desire  that  Christians  should  feel  that  the  furnishing 
the  money  as  God  has  given  the  ability,  is  in  itself,  if  there  were 
a  willing  mind,  beyond  comparison,  the  easiest  part  of  the  whole 
business;  and  yet,  in  point  of  fact,  it  is  beyond  measure  the 
hardest.  Missionaries  can  be  had,  men  of  fine  talents  and  fine 
prospects,  who  are  willing  to  go  to  the  heathen  and  labor  like 
slaves,  among  the  most  degraded  and  ignorant  of  their  species, 
without  intermission  or  cessation,  till  death  releases  them  from  their 
toils.  Oceans  can  be  traversed,  barbarous  languages  can  be  con- 
quered and  reduced  to  writing,  the  Bible  can  be  translated,  schools 
can  be  taught,  whole  heathen  communities  can  be  enlightened  and 

*  See  account  of  Mr.  Solomon  Goodell,  late  of  Jamaica,  Vermont,  Missionary 
Herald,  August,  1S25,  (vol.21,  p.  256) — afterwards  published  separately  as  a  tract. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  213 

transformed.     At  home,  persons   can   be   found   who   will   devote 
their  time  and  powers  to   superintending  missionary  concerns,  and 
acting  as  almoners  and  agents  of  the  Christian  public  ;  though  this 
is  by  far  a  more  difficult  thing  to  be  obtained  than  to  get  laborers 
for  distant  fields.     In   one   instance  only  have   we  been   able  to 
persuade  an  intended  assistant  missionary  to  stop  and  labor  at  the 
Missionary  Rooms  ;  that  was  the  excellent  Mr.  Chamberlain,  now 
at  the  Sandwich  Islands  ;  and  he  consented  to   the  measure  only 
as  a   temporary   thing.     Persons  can  be   found   who  set  a  noble 
example  of  Christian  self-denial   in  order  to  furnish  resources  for 
the  support  of  missions.     There  are   individuals   in  this  city  who 
labor  hard  in  their  several  employments,  or  professions  with  a  view 
to  earn  money  for  the  service  of  the  Lord  ;  and  having  earned  it, 
they  lay   their  plans  of  economy   so    as    to   save  it ;  and  having 
both  earned  and  saved  it,  they  give  up  all  thoughts  of  being  rich, 
to  which  they  are  tempted  by  every  thing  that  surrounds  them,  and 
by  the  whole  course  of  this  world  ;  and  having  thus  removed  the 
desire  or  the  intention  of  being   rich,  they  consecrate  to  various 
purposes  or  religious  charity,  from  three  hundred  to  one  thousand 
dollars  each  annually.     And  these  are  the  persons  most  familiarly 
acquainted  with   the  manner  in  which   the   missionary  affairs  are 
conducted.     Others,  in  humble  circumstances,  but  with  a  zeal  not 
less  commendable,  give  largely  of  their  small  earnings.     Poor  me- 
chanics, engaged  constantly  in  manual  labor,  give  their  ten,  twenty, 
and  thirty  dollars  annually." 

TO    THE    CEYLON    MISSIONARIES. 

Boston,  February  7, 1S25. 

"  Various  letters  from  your  mission,  under  dates  from  March  to 
June  last,  came  to  hand  on  the  24th  ult.  Previous  letters,  giving 
some  account,  or  rather  a  brief  notice,  of  the  revival  of  religion 
which  God  has  mercifully  vouchsafed  to  you,  were  received  a 
month  before.  We  would  unite  with  you  in  ascribing  praise  and 
thanksgiving  to  the  Lord  of  missions  for  his  great  goodness  in  this 
signal  event ;  for  this  earnest  of  what  he  is  able  and  willing  to 
do,  and  of  what  he  may  hereafter  do,  at  many  stations.  Let  it 
teach  us  and  you  to  pray  more  fervently  and  importunately  for  the 


214  I-IFE   OF  EVARTS. 

continual  influences  of  that  blessed  Spirit  who  convinces  the  world 
of  sin,  of  righteousness,  and  of  judgment,  and  on  whose  benign 
interposition  the  hopes  of  our  guilty  world  are  suspended. 

"  I  should  think  your  time  might  have  been  well  employed  in 
describing  various  particulars  at  much  greater  length  :  such  as  the 
experience  of  individuals,  the  reasons  you  had  to  judge  favorably, 
the  pains  taken  to  guard  against  deception,  and  some  of  the  ex- 
hortations of  your  brethren  of  other  denominations,  (the  English 
Church  and  Wesleyan  Missionaries.) 

"  There  appeared  the  more  necessity  for  this,  as  some  of  the 
measures  seemed  calculated  to  produce  an  effect  on  the  animal 
feelings,  especially  by  way  of  sympathy.  I  now  refer  to  your 
inviting  them  to  rise,  to  signify  their  desire  to  be  Christians  and 
to  partake  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  he. 

"  All  this  was  doubtless  proper;  but  the  reasons  for  it  should,  I 
think,  have  been  stated.  Last  spring,  when  I  was  in  the  Choc- 
taw nation,  there  was  some  religious  excitement  at  Mayhew,  which 
resulted  in  the  hopeful  conversion  of  two  Choctaw  girls  and  sev- 
eral hired  men.  A  Methodist  preached  near  the  mission  house 
on  Sabbath  evening,  and  a  large  part  of  the  pupils  attended.  1 
was  present,  with  Mr.  Kingsbury  and  others.  Towards  the  close 
of  the  services  the  preacher  made  such  representations  and  pro- 
posals, as  induced  all  the  pupils  present  to  come  forward  and  kneel 
down  in  the  middle  of  the  room.  Now  the  children  acted  from 
the  impulse  of  the  moment,  with  very  little  knowledge  and  very 
little  feeling  of  any  kind.  The  preacher,  according  to  the  practice 
of  the  country,  might  reckon  them  all  as  real  converts ;  whereas, 
in  general,  they  did  not  furnish  a  particle  of  evidence  that  they 
had  any  perception  of  sin  or  any  desire  for  salvation.  I  do  not 
mention  this  as  a  case  resembling  that  at  Ceylon  ;  but  there  are 
many  readers  of  the  Herald  who  have  known  much  of  such 
hasty  proceedings  as  I  have  described,  and  who  are  unacquainted 
with  the  character  of  the  Ceylon  missionaries.  It  is  important 
that  they  and  the  public  generally  should  have  evidence  that  great 
care  and  caution  are  used. 

"  I  believe,  indeed,  that  the  Board  will,  under  the  blessing  of 
Providence,  increase  in  resources.  But  my  belief  is  founded  on 
the  general  aspect  of  the  times,  and  on  the  promises  of  the  Bible 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  215 

which  relate  to  the  future  enlargement  of  Zlon  ;  but  not  at  all  on 
our  own  skill  or  wisdom,  or  the  hold  that  we  have  upon  the  Chris- 
tian public,  or  the  interest  that  the  public  take  in  missionary  con- 
cerns, or  the  reasonableness  of  the  missionary  cause,  or  the  ingrat- 
itude and  folly  of  deserting  it.  It  is  the  easiest  thing  in  the  world, 
take  men  as  they  are,  for  the  cause  of  missions  to  be  the  general 
subject  of  praise  and  approbation,  and  yet  that  the  pecuniary  sup- 
port of  it  should  be  more  and  more  feeble  and  irregular  continu- 
ally. It  requires  no  self-denial  to  praise  a  good  cause,  or  to  pe- 
ruse a  missionary  magazine  once  in  a  while  ;  but  to  make  large, 
prompt,  and  regular  offerings  of  money  is  quite  a  different  matter. 
"  In  regard  to  your  own  support  and  the  support  of  the  cause, 
I  think  that  you  should  eminently  feel  that  you  are  pensioners 
of  the  Divine  bounty  ;  that  you  should  elevate  your  eyes  and 
hearts  to  God  ;  that  you  should  meekly  and  humbly  plead  with 
Hira  who  makes  daily  provision  for  the  ravens  ;  that  you  should 
remember  that,  while  the  duty  of  Christians  is  plain,  and  neg- 
lect and  apathy  are  inexcusable,  there  are  no  human  means  of 
compelling  a  performance  of  this  duty  ;  and  that  missionaries  gen- 
erally, as  the  Moravians  are  apt  to  do,  should  use  the  language  of 
thankfulness  for  what  the  good  Lord  is  doing  for  them  and  others, 
rather  than  the  language  of  complaint,  even  if  brought  into  great 
straits,  perplexities,  and  sufferings." 

TO    T.    L.    Mc'KENNY,    ESQ. 

Boston,  February  14,  1835. 

"  In  regard  to  the  proposed  removal  of  the  Indians,  1  have 
many  fears  as  to  the  expected  efficacy  of  the  measure,  arising 
principally  from  the  following  considerations  : 

"  1.  The  difficulty  of  finding  land  which  the  Indians  will  con- 
sider of  a  quality  as  good  as  that  which  they  leave. 

"2.  The  difficulty  of  persuading  them  that  it  is  for  their  in- 
terest to  remove.  Without  this  persuasion,  the  more  intelligent 
and  industrious  will  remain  long  behind,  and  the  more  ignorant 
and  idle  only  will  go  at  first. 

"  3.     The  difficulty  of  establishing  and  maintaining  over  the 


216  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

emigrants  such  a  government  as  shall  preserve  the  peace  among 
them,  and  induce  them  to  provide  for  their  wants  by  their  labor. 

"  4.  Tlie  certainty  that  if  they  live  in  a  habitable  region,  they 
will  be  surrounded  and  closely  hemmed  in  by  a  dense  population 
of  whites,  and  of  course  exposed  to  the  same  evils  which  beset 
them  now. 

"  I  shall  rejoice  if  these  difficulties  vanish  on  experiment,  and  I 
honor  the  benevolent  intentions  of  the  President,  the  Secretary  of 
War,  and  yourself.  May  the  great  Ruler  of  nations  direct  to  such 
a  course  as  shall  preserve  our  red  brethren  from  further  depression, 
and  greatly  elevate  them  as  moral  and  intelligent  beings. 

"  As  to  the  office  of  Commissioner,  I  have  not  seen  any  account 
of  the  Act  before  Congress,  and  know  not  what  would  be  ex- 
pected of  one  who  should  receive  the  appointment.  It  is  not  prob- 
able that  my  friends  here  would  consent  to  my  accepting  any 
office  which  would  require  me  to  be  long  absent  from  home,  as  I 
am  much  occupied  with  the  duties  of  Corresponding  Secretary. 
I  owe  it  to  my  own  feelings,  however,  to  say  that  I  have  often 
thought,  if  my  domestic  circumstances  would  permit,  and  I  could 
be  released  from  my  duties  here,  I  should  delight  to  be  an  agent 
of  some  kind  among  the  Indians,  so  that  I  could  labor  in  the  wil- 
derness with  a  prospect  of  success  for  their  benefit.  Your  intro- 
duction of  this  topic  emboldens  me  to  suggest  that  I  hope  the 
government  will  be  happy  in  the  selection  of  Commissioners  and 
agents  to  carry  forward  this  business.  Men  are  wanted,  not  only 
of  irreproachable  character  in  every  respect,  but  of  enlarged 
minds,  of  true  benevolence,  of  public  spirit,  and  of  great  activity." 

This  letter  deserves  particular  attention,  as  evidence  of  Mr. 
Evarts's  views  of  the  plan  for  removing  the  Indians  at  that  early 
period,  and  of  his  readiness  to  put  the  best  construction  on  the 
motives  of  those  who  were  concerned  in  devising  and  promoting 
it.  If  the  plan  must  be  acted  upon,  he  was  ready,  by  his  sug- 
gestions and  by  the  aid  of  missions,  to  contribute  anything  in  his 
power  to  make  it  safe  and  salutary. 

"  April  7.  (Charleston.)  Spent  the  evening  very  pleasantly  at 
Mr.  B's.     All  the  gentlemen  agreed  that  the  condition  of  slaves 


LIFE    OF  EVARTS.  217 

in  this  country  was  much  improved  within  twenty  years,  and  that 
the  general  state  of  society  was  also  improved.  The  Sabbath  is 
better  observed,  and  there  is  less  profaneness. 

"  14.  (On  the  way  to  Augusta.)  Our  road  today  was  over 
a  country  almost  perfectly  level.  It  may  bo  doubted  whether 
any  part  of  it  is  higher  above  tide-water  than  some  part  of  the 
suburbs  of  Charleston  ;  that  is,  perhaps  thirty  feet.  In  one  field 
I  saw  forty  negroes  at  work,  principally  females, — a  black  driver 
sitting  upon  the  fence  with  a  whip  in  his  hand,  watching  their 
work.     In  another  field  I  counted  twenty-four. 

"  17.  In  reading  the  three  last  chapters  of  the  Revelations,  I 
was  forcibly  struck  with  the  vivid  representation  of  eternal  realities. 
Oh  may  I  fix  my  heart  on  heaven,  and  be  always  directing  my 
course  thither  ! 

"  19.  Walterboro'.  A  murderer  was  on  trial  today.  I  went 
into  the  court-house  and  examined  the  appearance  of  the  assem- 
bly— judge,  jury,  lawyers,  prisoner,  and  spectators, — a  very  differ- 
ent assemblage  from  what  will  be  seen  in  a  New  England  court- 
house. The  people  bore  some  resemblance  to  the  lower  class  of 
laboring  people  in  the  farming  districts  of  New  England,  except 
that  their  health  did  not  appear  as  good.  Some  of  them  were 
most  deplorable  exhibitions  of  the  deleterious  influence  of  climate. 
Tents  were  erected  for  grog-shops  not  far  from  the  court-house ; 
and  among  the  crowd  there  was  the  noise  of  violence,  with  much 
swearing.     Many  women  accompanied  their  husbands. 

"The  fact  that  a  small  sandy  plain,  in  the  midst  of  a  damp 
country  extending  hundreds  of  miles,  should  be  a  preservation 
against  fever,  even  to  northern  constitutions,  is  exceedingly  impor- 
tant in  regard  to  the  cause  of  the  fever." 

TO    A    MISSIONARY. 

Augusta,  April  23, 1825. 

"  Missionaries   should  endeavor  to  make  some  progress  every 

day  in  their  great  work.     They  are  apt  (and  we  are  all   apt)  to 

spend  the  present   in  preparation,  thinking   that  in   future   much 

time  may  be  spent  in  action.     But  if  there  is  a  regular  progress — 

28 


218  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

if  something  is  done  every  day — though  the  advance  may  not  be 
perceptible  at  once,  the  effect  will  at  last  be  considerable. 

"  April  23.     I  have  been  much  interested  in  an  account  of  the 

late  Mr. ,  of  this  place.     He  was  once  Mayor  of  Augusta  ; 

and  at  the  time  of  the  death,  a  member  of  the  U.  S.  Senate.  He 
had  been  regardless  of  divine  things  through  life,  till  near  its  close  ; 
but  when  all  hope  of  recovery  from  a  lingering  disease  was  taken 
away,  he  applied  himself  in  earnest  to  the  state  of  his  soul.  For 
a  long  time  he  was  in  a  state  of  utter  despair  on  account  of  the 
number  and  magnitude  of  his  sins.  At  last  he  died  joyfully,  ex- 
pressing the  most  undoubting  assurance  of  happiness  beyond  the 
grave.  Whatever  opinion  may  be  entertained  of  the  sincerity  of 
such  a  repentance,  the  facts  in  the  case  are  very  useful  to  be 
known, 

"  May  3.  Savannah.  Attended  the  annual  meeting  of  the 
Savannah  Missionary  Society.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Howe  read  the 
Report,  which  was  animated  and  good.  I  made  observations,  or 
statements,  which  occupied  about  eighteen  minutes.  The  Hon. 
James  M.  Wayne  delivered  a  formal  written  address  of  thirty  min- 
utes. He  is  at  present  a  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court.  He  dwelt 
upon  a  universal  and  particular  Providence — the  baneful  effects  of 
idolatry — and  laid  it  down  as  a  principle,  that  the  plan  of  redemp- 
tion, as  revealed  in  the  Gospel,  affords  the  only  adequate  remedy 
for  the  wants  of  mankind.  The  address  was  calculated  to  do 
good  ;  and  I  was  peculiarly  pleased  to  see  a  layman  of  his  stand- 
ing come  forward  in  this  manner. 

"6.  Charleston.  At  evening,  received  letters  containing  in- 
telligence of  the  death  of  my  daughter  Sarah.  Gladly  would  I 
have  watched  and  prayed  by  her  bed-side,  if  the  Lord  had  per- 
mitted. May  1  be  more  faithful  to  my  other  children  ;  and  may 
this  Providence  be  sanctified  to  them  all,  and  to  the  afflicted 
mother.  The  Lord  is  righteous  in  all  his  dispensations,  and  ever 
to  be  adored  and  loved.  Oh  that  he  would  sanctify  me  by  his 
truth  and  receive  me  to  himself." 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 


219 


TO    REV.    R.    ANDERSON. 

New  York,  May  20, 1825. 

"  I  must  now  ask  your  attention  to  a  subject  of  very  considerable 
importance,  with  a  view  to  your  suggesting  it  to  Dr.  W.,  Mr.  F., 
and  others.  The  Tract  Society  here  have  appointed  a  committee 
to  repair  to  Boston  and  confer  with  the  American  Tract  Society 
on  the  subject  of  a  union.  I  hope  several  of  these  gentlemen 
will  attend,  and  that  I  shall  travel  in  their  company.  It  seems 
important  that  matters  should  be  prepared  and  digested  a  little ; 
so  that,  if  a  union  cannot  be  eflected,  the  business  may  be  so  man- 
aged as  to  leave  a  happy  impression  on  the  minds  of  the  commit- 
tee. I  hope  a  satisfactory  union  may  yet  be  formed  ;  and  I  am 
convinced  no  person  will  more  rejoice  in  it  a  few  years  hence,  than 
the  principal  patrons  of  the  American  Tract  Society.  Rather 
than  have  a  debate,  I  should  think  it  would  be  well  that  a  resolu- 
tion be  prepared  and  offered,  referring  the  whole  subject  of  nego- 
tiation to  a  committee  with  full  powers.  On  this  resolution,  the 
general  reasons  for  a  union  could  be  offered,  and  the  general  rea- 
sons against  it  also ;  but  the  details,  respecting  which  there  would 
be  danger  of  unadvised  speeches,  might  be  left  to  the  committee." 

To  understand  this  extract,  and  appreciate  it  as  an  illustration 
of  the  writer's  character  and  habits,  the  relation  of  the  two  So- 
cieties mentioned  should  be  recollected.  The  American  Tract 
Society,  originally  the  New  England  Tract  Society,  had  the  seat 
of  its  operations  at  Boston,  and  had  for  many  years  been  con- 
ducted with  great  judgment  and  success.  Its  operations  had  be- 
come so  extensive,  and  it  was  of  so  national  a  character,  that  the 
change  of  name  was  evidently  appropriate,  and  only  taking  in 
form  the  position  that  its  beneficence  and  activity  had  secured  to 
it  in  fact.  It  was  the  American  Tract  Society,  before  it  called 
itself  so.  In  this  state  of  things  the  active  and  devoted  friends  of 
the  cause  in  New  York  extended  their  plans  and  prepared  to  make 
that  city  the  centre  of  Tract  operations  for  the  Union.  It  was 
natural,  for  many  reasons,  that  the  friends  of  the  Boston  Society, 
who  had  labored  in  its  service  and  replenished  its  treasury  from 
the  first,  and  had  seen  its  beneficent  influence  extending  and  its  re- 


220  LI^E   OF  EVARTS. 

suits  becoming  more  rich,  for  a  long  series  of  years,  till  it  had,  through 
their  faithful  services,  come  to  be  a  national  institution  ;  and  who 
had  prepared  an  extensive  series  of  tracts,  many  of  them  original, 
and  formed  all  their  plans  with  a  view  to  independent  operations 
and  the  supply  of  the  whole  country, — it  was  natural,  in  these  cir- 
cumstances, that  they  should  be  at  first  somewhat  reluctant  to  take 
the  position  of  a  mere  auxiliary  to  a  new  society  in  another  city. 
It  seemed  to  them  hardly  just  to  the  religious  community  in  the 
bosom  of  which  the  institution  had  grown  up  ;  and  fears  were  ex- 
pressed that  the  warm  attachment  of  many  would  grow  cold.  Mr. 
Evarts,  it  will  be  seen,  gave  these  considerations  their  due  weight. 
He  respected  the  motives  and  feelings  of  those  who  entertained 
them.  But  it  was  his  habit,  in  regard  to  every  religious  enterprize, 
to  rise  above  all  local  and  temporary  considerations  as  completely 
as  above  those  of  mere  personal  bearing.  He  fixed  his  eye  on 
the  great  cause  ;  and  with  a  large  and  liberal  survey  of  its  rela- 
tions and  prospects,  endeavored  to  select  that  plan  which  would 
be  best  for  the  world  and  most  for  the  glory  of  God.  Hence  his 
anxiety  in  this  case  that  the  friends  of  the  cause  on  both  sides 
should  meet  and  part,  not  only  in  peace,  but  with  an  increase  of 
mutual  good  will.  His  own  personal  feelings  were  never  suffered 
to  interfere  with  such  a  question  ;  and  he  would  have  the  whole 
business  managed  so  as  not  to  disturb  the  personal  feelings  of  any. 
He  knew  human  frailty,  and  was  always  ready  to  make  allow- 
ances for  it ;  but  for  the  same  reason,  he  was  also  ever  anxious  so 
to  arrange  all  movements  in  the  Christian  world,  as  to  avoid  the 
excitement  of  unpleasant  feeling,  and  make  the  friends  of  truth 
feel  the  blessedness  of  acting  together  harmoniously.  Had  this  move- 
ment resulted  otherwise  than  he  wished,  he  would  have  been  none 
the  less  ready  to  cooperate  heartily  with  both  the  societies,  and  to  do 
every  thing  in  his  power  to  secure  their  highest  efficiency.  He 
cherished  the  spirit  of  a  truly  Christian  republicanism.  He  had 
faith  in  the  presence  of  the  Saviour  with  his  people  in  their  delib- 
erations, and  in  the  strictly  Providential  overruling  of  their  plans. 
Hence  he  was  as  ready  to  devote  himself  to  the  execution  of  a 
plan  suggested  by  another,  as  if  it  had  been  of  his  own  originating. 
He  went  where  the  Divine  Providence,  by  the  movement  and  de- 
termination of  Christian  minds,  seemed  to  lead. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  221 

He  attended  the  meeting  held  to  consider  this  subject,  and  the 
result  was  a  union  in  which  all  parties  have  had  reason  to  rejoice. 
A  few  months  after,  in  reply  to  inquiries  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
New  York  Society,  he  said  :  "  There  is  no  one  thing  by  which  your 
Society  could  promote  the  welfare  of  mankind  more  effectually  than 
by  distributing  your  publications  through  many  foreign  and  distant 
countries,  by  the  aid  of  missionaries  ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  no 
other  part  of  your  proceedings  would  so  certainly  or  so  strongly 
attract  the  affections  of  the  Christian  community.  I  rejoice, 
therefore,  in  reading  the  inquiries  in  your  letter,  and  to  say  in  re- 
ply, that  either  now,  or  at  no  distant  period,  you  may  easily  aid 
every  one  of  our  missions."  Here  we  see  the  origin  of  the  foreign 
operations  of  the  Tract  Society, — which  have  since  swelled  to  such 
importance  as  to  demand,  in  prosecuting  them,  the  expenditure 
of  ^30,000  annually. 

"  24.  Reached  home.  God  has  seen  fit,  during  my  absence, 
to  remove  a  beloved  child.  I  should  have  been  glad  to  be 
present,  had  he  seen  fit,  at  the  closing  scene.  But  it  has 
been  otherwise  ordered,  and  I  have  not  a  word  to  say.  Though  I 
have  prayed  much  and  often  for  my  children,  jointly  and  individ- 
ually, I  have  to  blame  myself  that  I  have  not  done  enough  for 
their  spiritual  interests — have  not  felt  enough  for  their  souls — have 
not  taught  them  enough  their  need  of  a  Saviour.  Were  it  in  my 
power,  I  would  most  gladly  perform  offices  of  kindness  for  my 
poor  little  Sarah.  Most  gladly  would  I  cherish  her,  and  lead  her 
opening  mind  to  the  Saviour  of  lost  men.  Little  did  I  think  that 
my  opportunities  of  doing  this  would  so  soon  be  over. 

"  28.  Attended  the  funeral  of  a  child,  and  visited  the  tomb 
of  little  Sarah — saw  the  mouldering  corpse — an  affecting  memorial 
of  our  weakness  and  our  exposure  to  death." 

TO    THE    REV.    JONAS    KING. 

Boston,  June  24, 1S25. 

"  I  deeply  feel  for  you  personally,  and  for  the  mission,  when  I 
think  of  the  death  of  our  beloved  brother  Fisk.  I  had  hoped  to 
greet  him  again  in  this  world,  to  have  the  benefit  of  his  advice 
with  reference  to  the  mission  in  which  he  labored,  and  to  see  him 


222  LIFE   OF  EVARTS, 

sail  again  for  tiie  Holy  Land.  I  had  hoped  to  enjoy  the  pleasure 
of  hearing  him  address  assembled  multitudes,  and  of  seeing 
with  what  ardent  affection  he  would  everywhere  be  received  by  his 
Christian  brethren.  While  I  was  myself  in  the  bosom  of  the  western 
wilderness,  I  read  the  melancholy  news.  The  same  afternoon,  in 
various  ways,  I  heard  of  the  death  of  intimate  friends  in  Boston. 
It  was  to  me  a  solemn  season,  and  I  pray  that  the  impression  of  it 
may  not  speedily  be  erased.  Few  such  men  as  Mr.  Fisk  are  to  be 
found  in  any  country.  Oh  that  it  may  please  the  Lord  to  raise  up 
many  such  for  our  churches  at  home  and  our  missions  abroad  ! 

"1  think  it  will  be  w^ell  for  you,  both  in  writing  and  in  conver- 
sation, and  in  more  public  addresses,  to  have  a  regard  to  the  notion 
that  is  very  easily  propagated  and  very  apt  to  prevail,  that  nothing 
is  accomplished  by  missionary  exertion  till  converts  are  made,  or 
at  least  till  the  ordinances  of  religion  are  firmly  established.  Men 
are  apt  to  grow  cold  in  the  best  of  causes,  and  great  and  constant 
exertion  is  necessary  to  keep  them  from  fainting. 

"  You  will  see  by  publications  transmitted  herewith,  that  God 
is  exceedingly  gracious  to  our  country  in  sending  down  showers  of 
Divine  grace  upon  the  colleges.  We  have  every  reason  to  praise 
and  magnify  his  name." 

The  occasion  of  the  following  letter  was  this :  Elias  Boudinot, 
a  very  promising  Indian  youth  of  the  Cherokee  nation,  while  a 
member  of  the  Mission  School  at  Cornwall,  formed  a  matrimonial 
engagement  with  a  young  lady  of  that  place,  of  respectable  con- 
nexions. This  circumstance  caused  no  little  excitement  in  the 
neighborhood  ;  and  some  of  the  friends  and  patrons  of  the  school 
were  led  to  adopt  measures  that  gave  Mr.  E.  great  pain  and 
anxiety. 

TO    THE    UEV.    CALVIN    CHAPIN,    T>.    D. 

Boston,  July  5,  1S25. 

"  I  am  extremely  distressed  to  hear  of  the  violent  opposition  made 
at  Cornwall  to  the  marriage  of  Boudinot  and  Colonel  Gould's 
daughter.  If  the  parties  have  conducted  honorably  in  this  matter, 
and  a  firm  engagement  of  marriage  has  been  entered  into,  I  do  not 
see  how  the  contract  can  be  proved  to  be  morally  wrong ;    and  if 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  223 

it  is  not,  1  do  not  see  how  others  can  be  justified  in  compelHng 
one  of  the  parties  to  violate  it.  As  to  any  unpopularity  which 
might  attach  to  the  school,  through  prejudice,  ignorance,  or  mis- 
apprehension, I  should  think  it  much  less  to  be  dreaded,  than  that 
the  agents  or  teachers  of  the  school  should  act  upon  principles 
which  the  Christian  world  will  not  justify.  Can  it  be  pretended, 
at  this  age  of  the  world,  that  a  small  variance  of  complexion  is  to 
present  an  insuperable  barrier  to  matrimonial  connexions  ?  or  that 
the  different  tribes  of  men  are  to  be  kept  forever  and  entirely  dis- 
tinct ?  That  parents  have  a  right  to  take  these  things  into  consider- 
ation, and  to  make  them  a  reason  for  withholding  their  consent,  I 
do  not  deny.  But  the  public  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  matter, 
so  long  as  the  public  morals  are  not  violated.  I  do  not  know  of 
any  event  which  has  so  threatening  an  aspect  upon  the  Cherokee 
mission,  nor  anything  which  will  be  so  painful  to  the  missionaries, 
as  that  this  promising  young  man  should  be  treated  with  harshness 
by  his  Christian  fathers  and  brethren  of  the  North." 

After  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Board  in  September,  Mr.  Evarts 
spent  some  weeks  in  attending  the  meetings  of  auxiliary  societies 
in  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts.  Having  been  disappointed  in 
regard  to  assistance,  his  labors  were  very  arduous.  At  one  time 
he  made  public  addresses  ten  days  out  of  eleven  successively ; 
which,  with  his  health  and  habits,  was  more  than  he  could  well 
endure.  The  people  listened  with  attention,  he  says,  and  the 
meetings  were  often  interesting ;  but  he  was  most  deeply  con- 
vinced of  the  necessity  of  a  great  work  by  means  of  agencies,  be- 
fore the  Christian  public  could  be  brought  to  act  as  the  exigencies 
of  the  cause  demanded.  He  felt  severely  his  need  of  assistance,  and 
regretted  that  persons  on  whom  he  had  relied,  should  seem  to  feel 
so  little  of  the  weight  that  pressed  heavily  on  his  own  heart ;  yet, 
after  a  rather  thin  meeting,  he  is  glad  that  they  were  not  present, 
as  they  might  not  have  regarded  the  occasion  as  worth  an  effort, 
and  perhaps  would  have  been  discouraged,  so  as  to  decline  such 
services  for  the  future.  And  in  saying  this,  he  seems  to  forget  his 
own  position,  and  not  to  be  aware — or  rather  to  regard  it  as  a 
matter  of  course  and  what  could  not  be  otherwise, — how  he  was 
himself  ready  to  make  an  effort  in  the  humblest  and  most  limited 


224  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

spheres,  and  was  living  such  a  life  of  faith  in  the  supreme  excel- 
lency of  the  cause  itself,  as  to  be  far  above  discouragement 
from  the  circumstances  of  an  auxiliary  meeting,  whatever  they 
might  be. 

Early  in  1826,  we  find  Mr.  Evarts  again  taking  passage  from 
Boston  for  Charleston,  on  his  way  to  the  Indian  missions, — not, 
however,  merely  for  the  purpose  of  such  a  visit,  for  his  con- 
sumptive symptoms  had  returned,  and  a  visit  to  the  South  was 
deemed  necessary. 

TO    H.    HILL,    ESQ. 

At  sea,  ia  the  brig  Maine,  January  23, 1826. 

"We  have  now  been  upon  the  great  waters  nearly  four  days, 
and  I  feel  happy  in  being  able  to  resume  my  pen,  though  in  a 
smoky  cabin  and  no  superabundance  of  light.  Such  has  always 
been  my  experience  in  voyaging,  however,  that  the  good  things 
which  I  have  received  from  my  heavenly  Father,  have  greatly 
overbalanced  any  unpleasant  circumstances  in  which  I  was  placed, 
and  have  left  me  plentiful  subjects  of  gratitude  and  praise. 

"  Thursday,  January  19th,  a  little  after  one,  we  left  Long  Wharf 
and  went  to  sea  slowly,  with  a  moderate  northerly  wind,  against 
the  tide.  The  sun  shone  clear ;  the  moon  rose  beautiful ;  the  sea 
was  smooth  ;  and  the  general  aspect  of  things  was  as  pleasant 
as  can  ever  be  expected  upon  our  northern  coast  in  the  winter. 

"  Sabbath,  January  22.  Rose  for  breakfast,  having  been  tossed 
in  my  birth  forty-eight  hours.  The  morning  was  fine — the  clouds 
breaking  away,  and  the  sun  appearing — thus  furnishing  many 
topics  of  reflection  suited  to  the  occasion.  The  whole  day  and 
evening  were  pleasant ;  all  was  quiet  on  board  ;  the  sea  was  very 
smooth  ;  I  was  able  to  walk  and  sit  on  deck  ;  and  we  abounded  in 
comforts. 

"  Tuesday,  January  24.  In  itself  considered,  how  much  more 
pleasant  it  is  to  remain  at  home,  especially  at  such  a  home  and  in 
such  employments  as  have  fallen  to  my  lot,  than  to  be  absent  on 
any  business  or  in  any  pursuit  whatever  !  This  reminds  me  to 
speak  of  health ;  and  I  would  say  with  gratitude,  that  I  have  so 
little  cough  as  would  ordinarily  excite  no  attention.     I  have  not 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  225 

had  a  moment's  uneasiness  from  this  cause  since  I  came  on  board ; 
except  that  I  have  some  apprehension  as  to  what  may  be  the 
effect  of  a  land  breeze,  or  of  landing  after  a  short  voyage. 

"Charleston,  Jan.  28.  (After  mentioning  some  complaints  against 
the  Board  and  the  results  of  inquiry,)  I  notice  this  matter  particularly 
for  the  sake  of  making  two  observations  : — 1.  When  we  hear  any 
complaining,  or  grumbling,  with  respect  to  the  doings  of  our  Board, 
we  are  apt  to  overrate  its  importance.  I  believe  this  has  been  the 
case  invariably  hitherto.  2.  We  must  not,  however,  conclude 
that,  like  the  king  of  England,  we  can  do  no  wrong.  We  must 
not  be  offended,  if  people  suppose  we  have  actually  done  wrong. 
We  must  take  it  for  granted  that  some  will  judge  with  very  scanty 
means  of  information  ;  and,  although  some  may  hastily  blame  us, 
others  may  blindly  applaud  our  doings.  Our  only  security  is  in 
the  Divine  teaching ;  and  this  is  not  to  be  expected  without  asking 
for  it,  nor  without  using  other  means  of  obtaining  it.  We  must 
deliberate  well  before  we  act,  and  look  carefully  on  every  side  of 
a  subject ;  and  when  we  have  done  so,  we  must  proceed  boldly, 
not  hesitatingly  and  tremblingly,  in  what  we  conceive  to  be  the 
right  course.  When  we  publish,  we  must  see  to  it  that  our 
reasons  are  in  themselves  good,  and  that  we  make  them  intel- 
ligible. We  must  avoid  giving  lame  accounts,  which  will  need 
subsequent  propping  and  bolstering. 

"  January  30.  The  following  suggestions  I  make  with  refer- 
ence to  the  next  annual  meeting  of  our  Board  ;  and  may  perhaps 
make  others  hereafter.  If  the  union*  should  be  consummated,  the 
Board  will  probably  think  it  best  to  elect  from  twenty  to  twenty- 
five  members, — say  five  in  New  England,  and  the  rest  in  other 
parts  of  the  country.  It  seems  to  me  very  important  that  no  elec- 
tion of  a  member  should  be  made  from  motives  of  policy, — that 
is,  to  disarm  opposition,  to  flatter,  to  gain  influence  with  men  in 
political  life,  he.  he.  (Here  follows  a  list  of  gentlemen  suggested 
as  candidates,  with  remarks.) 

"  Attended  a  meeting  of  ministers  from  nine  to  twelve  o'clock. 
After  their  regular  business  was  through,  I  proposed  these  ques- 
tions  to   be  answered   next   week  : — Can  young  colored  /iien  be 

♦  Between  the  Board  and  the  United  Foreign  Missionary  Society. 

29 


226  LIFE   OF   EVAHTS. 

found  of  suitable  character  to  be  taken  as  beneficiaries,  and  edu- 
cated for  missionary  services  in  Africa?  Will  they  be  found 
among  the  free  blacks,  or  the  slaves  ? 

"  February  1.  Last  night,  at  one  o'clock,  we  were  alarmed  by 
the  cry  of  fire.  It  proved  to  be  in  mills  not  contiguous  to  other 
buildings.  The  last  month  has  been  fruitful  in  alarms.  In  twenty 
different  places  attempts  have  been  made  by  incendiaries  to  burn 
the  city  ;  and  fires  have  actually  broken  out  in  eight  or  ten 
instances.  Large  patrols  walk  the  city  every  night.  It  is  not 
supposed  that  these  attempts  have  their  origin  with  the  black 
population,  though  some  blacks  may  be  used  as  tools.  Fires, 
however,  in  a  city  filled  with  slaves,  are  very  troublesome  occur- 
rences. The  military  invariably  make  their  appearance,  with 
arras — quite  as  regularly  as  the  fire  engines." 

TO    H.    HILL,    ESQ. 

"  February  2.  The  more  I  am  acquainted  with  our  country, 
the  more  I  am  convinced  of  our  ability,  as  a  people,  to  do  great 
things  in  works  of  charity.  I  suppose  there  are  in  the  Presby- 
terian churches  and  congregations  of  this  city,  at  least  twenty  men 

who  are  able  to  do  as  much  as  Mr. ;  and   perhaps  twenty 

others  who  are  able  to  do  as  much  as  Mr. ;  and  twenty 

others  who  might  do  as  much  as  Mr. .    Many  of  these  are 

professors  of  religion,  and  nearly  all  are  friendly  to  orthodoxy  and 
missions.  Episcopalians  have  much  more  wealth  than  Presby- 
terians here  ;  and  there  is  considerable  property  in  the  bands  of 
Methodists,  Baptists,  and  others.  Southern  people  have  always 
>  been  more  ready  to  give  their  five  and  ten  dollars  than  Northern 
people.  Hence  I  argue  that  the  main  thing  wanted  here  is,  that 
the  principle  of  religious  charity  should  be  cultivated.  How 
much  might  be  done  by  this  single  city  ?  If  we  had  an  agent  of 
the  right  sort  in  the  southern  country,  he  might  spend  five  or  ten 
years  advantageously  in  organizing  the  inhabitants  for  this  effort 
and  in  bringing  them  to  the  work.  Such  an  agent  as  I  know  Mr. 
Fisk*  to  be,  might  exert  an  immediate  and  most  salutary  influence 
on  the  state  of  religion  wherever  he  labored,  while  he  was  leading 
wealthy  individuals  to  the  formation  of  correct  and  scriptural 
habits  of  charitable  exertion." 

*  Rev.  Pliny  Fisk,  late  missionary  to  Palestine. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  2'27 


TO    H.    HILL,    ESQ. 

"  February  3.  This  day  I  close  my  forty-fifih,  and  enter  upon 
my  forty-sixth  year.  I  can  hardly  believe  I  am  so  old.  Sixteen 
years  ago  to-day  I  arrived  at  Boston,  with  the  design  of  becoming 
editor  of  the  Panoplist,  and  entering  upon  that  course  of  labor 
which  I  have  since  pursued.  During  that  period,  in  which,  though 
it  appears  short,  many  interesting  events  have  taken  place,  I 
have  received  many  favors  at  the  hand  of  God.  My  health,  with 
the  exception  of  greater  liability  to  diseases  of  the  lungs,  is  as 
good  as  it  was  then,  and  my  ability  to  labor  as  great.  I  have 
occasion  to  lament  my  sinfulness,  and  my  failure  in  respect  to  all 
the  relative  duties,  as  well  as  in  the  duties  which  I  owe  to  my 
Creator,  Redeemer,  and  Sanctifier.  But,  unless  my  heart  deceives 
me,  I  entered  upon  editorial  labors,  and  subsequently  upon  labors 
more  immediately  connected  with  the  missionary  cause,  from  a 
conviction  that  I  could  do  more  for  the  church  of  Christ  in  this 
manner,  than  in  any  other.  Though  sensible  of  numberless  imper- 
fections, and  aware  that  my  attachment  to  the  cause  of  God  has 
been  feeble  compared  with  its  paramount  claims,  and  that  my 
efforts  have  not  preserved  that  character  of  uniform  strenuousness, 
which  the  urgency  of  the  case  demanded  ;  yet  I  can  deliberately 
declare  that  1  have  never  published  anything  which  appeared  to 
me  inaccurate,  unfair,  or  calculated  to  mislead  ;  that  I  have  never 
used  an  argument  which  appeared  to  me  unsound  or  even  doubt- 
ful ;  and  that  I  have  never  proposed  or  advocated  a  measure 
which  did  not  seem  to  be  consistent  with  the  strictest  principles  of 
Christian  integrity.  While  I  lament  that  I  have  served  God  with 
so  little  faithfulness  and  zeal,  I  rejoice  that  I  have  had  the  oppor- 
tunity of  attempting  something  for  the  honor  of  his  name  ;  and  I 
pray  that,  if  my  life  should  be  spared,  I  may  have  grace  to  dis- 
charge my  various  duties  with  alacrity  ;  that  I  may  never  lie  as  a 
dead  weight  upon  the  cause  ;  and  that  I  may  be  succeeded  by 
those  who  shall  bring  to  the  work  far  greater  abilities  than  I  ever 
possessed,  with  a  more  devoted  spirit,  and  a  more  constant  and 
lively  interest  in  the  great  things  of  the  gospel.  I  would  peni- 
tently and  humbly  ask  the  pardon  of  all  my  numerous  offences,  in 
the  name  and  for  the  sake  of  Christ,  in  whom  is  all  my  hope,  and 


228  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

to  whom  I  would  cheerfully  commit  all  my  concerns  for  time  and 
for  eternity." 

While  in  Charleston,  Mr.  Evarts  spent  much  time  in  consulta- 
tions and  arrangements  in  regard  to  the  formation  of  an  auxiliary 
missionary  society.  The  object  was  at  length  accomplished, 
much  to  his  satisfaction.  After  the  organization  of  the  society,  he 
says  :  "  On  the  whole,  the  meeting  was  an  auspicious  one,  and 
we  have  cause  for  gratitude.  We  must  remember,  however,  that 
annual  efforts  must  be  made  everywhere,  but  especially  at  the 
South.  Everybody  here  is  convinced  of  this.  The  most  prom- 
ising part  of  our  plan  is,  that  no  engagement  is  made  for  future 
years.  Mr.  B.  gives  it  as  the  decided  result  of  his  observation, 
that  nothing  is  to  be  relied  on  in  the  interior  of  the  southern 
country,  any  more  than  in  the  cities,  without  an  annual  effort.  It 
is  desirable  that  persons  may  be  found,  in  as  many  places  as  pos- 
sible, to  make  such  an  effort ;  but  if  this  cannot  be  done,  agents 
must  be  employed." 

TO    H.    HILL,    ESQ. 

"February  12.  Sabbath  evening,  I  went  to  a  Methodist  meet- 
ing. The  sermon  was  serious,  and  might  well  lead  a  serious  mind 
to  profitable  reflections.  To  a  light  mind,  there  were  some  things 
which  would  naturally  excite  levity.  I  was  altogether  surprised 
and  shocked  to  find  that  the  greater  part  of  the  audience  evi- 
dently came  together  for  purposes  of  levity,  or  something  worse, 
if  anything  can  be  worse  than  to  go  to  the  house  of  God  for  the 
deliberate  purpose  of  merriment.  I  should  think  three  fourths  of 
the  persons  present  were  young  fellows  and  young  ^girls,  gaily 
dressed,  whispering,  laughing,  and  prepared  to  leave  the  house 
with  far  other  emotions  than  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  was  in- 
tended to  produce.  They  seemed  perfectly  at  home,  and  very 
well  acquainted  with  each  other.  I  would  not  have  mentioned 
these  facts,  were  it  not  that  we  ought  to  know,  so  far  as  we  can 
easily  learn  it,  the  tendency  of  different  kinds  of  preaching. 
These  people  could  not  have  had  any  respect  for  the  ministrations 
which  they  had  previously  witnessed  there.  I  was  scarcely  ever 
niore  struck  with  the  necessity  of  a  well   educated  ministry,  and 


LIFE  OF  EVARTS.  229 

of  having  intellectual  power  and  true  dignity  of  character  at- 
tached to  the  sacred  office.  There  are  four  Methodist  churches 
in  this  city,  and  as  many  nninisters,  who  preach  in  rotation. 

"  A  great  part  of  the  northern  young  men  here  are  said  to  be 
very  dissolute.  There  is  no  doubt,  however,  but  the  state  of  re- 
ligion is  improving,  and  open  wickedness  is  not  so  prevalent  as 
formerly.  Sabbath-breaking  and  profaneness  are  considered  marks 
of  vulgarity,  and  are  not  practised  by  many  persons  of  respecta- 
ble standing  in  society.  In  one  respect,  (and  I  am  sorry  to  say 
it,)  there  is  a  falling  off.  A  few  years  ago  there  were  men  who 
gave  larger  sums  in  charity  than  are  now  given.  These  liberal 
men  are  dead,  and  their  places  are  not  fully  supplied  ;  though 
the  number  of  individuals  who  contribute  small  sums  is  increased. 

"  A  good  use  may  be  made  of  the  following   case,  though  the 

name  must  not  be  mentioned.     Mr. ,  of  this  city,  but   in 

his  youth  from  Rhode  Island,  was  accustomed  to  give  very  liber- 
ally to  charitable  objects,  usually  one  hundred  dollars  to  each,  let 
the  applications  be  ever  so  frequent.  He  was  also  very  kind  in 
lending  his  credit  to  young  men  whom  he  deemed  meritorious, 
when  they  were  in  great  need  of  pecuniary  aid.  In  this  way  he 
saved  some,  perhaps  many,  from  bankruptcy.  So  liberal  was  he, 
that  business  men  said  he  would  give  away  all  his  property. 
About  six  years  ago  he  died,  leaving  an  estate  of  ^300,000. 
His  age  was  above  eighty.  He  was  esteemed  very  pious.  I  saw 
him  when  I  was  first  at  Charleston,  eight  years  ago, — a  truly  ven- 
erable man.  Far  from  having  given  away  too  much,  he  might 
evidently  have  given  more  without  the  least  injury  to  his  family 
or  any  other  person. 

TO    H.    HILL,    ESQ. 

"  Augusta,  February  16.  The  road  from  Charleston  to  Au- 
gusta is  a  very  dreary  one,  though  not  materially  different  from 
that  to  Savannah,  to  Columbia,  to  Georgetown, — in  short,  any  of 
the  great  roads  in  the  low  country  of  Georgia  or  South  Carolina. 
We  arrived  at  Jacksonboro',  thirty  miles  from  the  ferry  near 
Charleston,  at  dark.  In  that  distance,  I  counted  twenty-two 
houses  on  the  road,  or  within  three  fourths  of  a  mile  of  it,  the  po- 
sition of  which  I  marked  as  we  passed  them.     Four  were  gentle- 


230  LIFE    OF  EVARTS. 

men's  seats,  (winter  residences,)  and  one   a   tavern.     The  others 
were  intended  only  for  overseers.     Some  stood  alone  ;  others  were 
surrounded    by   negro   huts.     The  cleared   land    did   not   occupy 
more  than  one  third  of  the  way.     The  rest  was   forest ;  that  is,  a 
growth  of  pines,  sparsely  scattered.     A  large  part  of  what  is  now 
forest,  was  formerly  cultivated  ;  some  of  it  twenty  years  ago,  and 
some  of  it  sixty.     I  saw  ridges,  indicating  former  cultivation,  in  a 
part  now   covered   with   thick   woods;  and  large    pines   growing 
upon   a   mud    bank,    formerly  the   inside   of  a  ditch.     The    pine 
grows  in  this  climate  with  great  rapidity.     The  sea-island  cotton 
grows  well  upon  this  road  as    far   as  Jacksonboro',  and   generally 
twenty  or  thirty  miles  from  the  coast.     This  is  also  called   black 
seed  and  long  staple.     The  other  kind  of  cotton   is  called   indis- 
criminately by  either  of  the  four  names,  green   seed,  short  staple, 
upland,  and    bowed.     One   of  these   kinds   is   gradually  changed 
into  the  other  by  carrying  the  seed  for  planting  from  the  sea-coast 
to  the  back  country,  and  vice  versa.     It  is  remarkable  that  a  coun- 
try of  the  richest  agricultural  products  in  the  world,  should  exhibit 
to  a   stranger  passing   through   it,  every   mark  of  deep   poverty. 
Slave  labor  has  been  known  to  produce  eight  hundred    dollars  a 
year  to  each  hand  employed  in  cultivating  sea-island   cotton,  and 
at  the  present  prices  has,  in  some  instances,   produced  nearly  that 
sum.     Large  plantations,  suitable  for  this  crop,  would  sell  for  one 
hundred  dollars  an  acre  ;  and  yet,  from  various  facts  stated,  many 
slaves,  when  their  price  was  high,  must  have  paid  for  themselves 
and  the  land   on   which  they  worked,  in   two  years,  besides   their 
own  support  in  the  mean  time.     In   the  interior,  much   land  that 
will  produce  a  tolerable  crop  of  upland  cotton,  may  be  purchased 
at  from  two  to  five  dollars.     Much   land  in    the   three   southern 
States,  lying  on  the  Atlantic,  covered  with  pine  timber,  that  would 
be  valuable  at  the  North,  would  not  bring  anything  here,  unless 
attached  to  tracts  of  a  better  quality.     One  cause  of  the  poverty 
of  appearance  is,   that  the   planters   do  not  live  on   their   plan- 
tations, except  a  short  time  in  the  winter ;  whereas  formerly  they 
resided   there    the    whole    year.     Before   the  revolutionary    war, 
large  families  of  children  were  brought  up  on  many  plantations, 
where  it  would  now  be  at  the  risk  of  his  life  for  the   owner   him- 
self, born  and  educated  in  this  climate;  to  spend  a  single  night 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  231 

between  the  first  of  July  and  the  first  of  October.  Many  have 
lost  their  lives  by  staying  so  late  as  the  middle  of  June.  No  sat- 
isfactory explanation  of  the  cause  of  this  change  has  ever  been 
given.  It  is  said  that  the  present  unhealthiness  of  the  low  coun- 
try has  caused  it  to  be  so  much  deserted,  that  many  splendid  and 
very  expensive  mansions  have  fallen  into  decay  and  utter  rum. 
In  some  places  the  buildings  have  entirely  disappeared,  and  the 
spots  where  they  stood  are  indicated  only  by  rows  of  trees  that 
were  planted  by  men  of  former  generations.  These  facts  would 
seem  to  support  what  is  said  to  be  Mr.  Jefl'erson's  theory,  that 
this  low  country,  at  some  future  period,  will  be  in  the  possession 
of  the  blacks. 

"  We  supped  at  Jacksonboro',  at  a  tavern  kept  by  a  white  man, 
who  has  a  mulatto  wife.  She  keeps  a  good  house  for  this  coun- 
try— brought  much  property  to  her  husband — has  numerous  slaves 
at  her  disposal,  and  they  appear  neater  and  better  dressed  than 
any  other  slaves  I  have  yet  seen. 

"  The  land  through  Barnwell  district,  for  fifty  miles,  is  very 
poor ;  and  yet  the  district  is  said  to  contain  many  wealthy  plant- 
ers. I  have  no  doubt  the  county  of  Worcester,  Massachusetts, 
contains  more  good  houses  than  the  whole  cotton  growing  country 
of  the  United  States,  (not  including  the  cities,)  although  last  year's 
crop  of  cotton  will  probably  sell  for  f  24,000,000. 

"  Before  taking  leave  of  Carolina,  I  would  say  that  there  are  ^ 
some  things  of  a  discouraging  nature,  in  regard  to  the  character 
of  slavery  and  the  treatment  of  slaves.  It  is  now  more  difficult, 
than  it  was  a  few  years  ago,  to  instruct  the  blacks.  Many  legal 
impediments  are  thrown  in  the  way.  Sabbath  schools  for  their 
benefit  cannot  be  maintained.  When  they  attempt  separate  wor- 
ship, with  teachers  of  their  own  color,  they  are  dispersed,  some- 
times in  the  most  barbarous  and  cruel  manner.  The  discussions 
in  the  northern  papers  on  the  subject  of  slavery,  irritate  the  peo- 
ple of  Carolina  (South)  and  Georgia  beyond  what  you  would  sup- 
pose. The  paper  in  the  Christian  Spectator  more  than  a  year 
ago,  excited  a  great  flame  here.  There  is  a  passage  in  the  paper 
alluded  to,  which  I  was  sorry  to  see  at  the  time.  1  am  persuaded, 
however,  that  the  southern  people  must  make  up  their  minds  to 
have  northern   people  speak  rashly,  unadvisedly,  and  ignorantly 


232  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

on  this  subject.  With  all  this  allowance,  much  truth  will  be 
spoken,  and  it  will  gradually  produce  its  effect.  Even  now  I 
cannot  but  think  that  the  cause  of  freedom  is  advancing  on  the 
whole.  A  considerable  number  of  the  planters  are  becoming  con- 
scientious on  the  subject,  and  are  desirous  that  some  means  of 
gradual  relief  should  be  discovered. 

"  As  to  a  point  which  I  have  mentioned  once  before,  the  pos- 
sibility of  obtaining  young  blacks  for  an  education,  I  was  informed 
by  several  of  the  clergy  in  Charleston,  that  there  would  be  no 
difficulty  in  obtaining  a  sufficient  number. 

"  Among  the  instances  of  liberality  at  Charleston  is  one,  I  think, 
which  could  hardly  find  a  parallel  in  Boston,  and  which  I  would 
here  commemorate,  to  be  used  in  my  projected  tract  of  examples. 
It  is  that  of .  He  receives  a  salary  of  two  thou- 
sand dollars  a  year.  For  some  time  past  he  has  made  it  a  rule, 
whenever  he  receives  a  quarter's  salary,  to  pay  all  his  debts,  and 
distribute  the  remainder  among  different  charitable  objects.  His 
family  is  small,  and  he  lives  with  economy  ;  and  thus  he  has  it  in 
his  power  to  give  four  hundred  dollars  a  year  to  different  objects. 

"  Of  all  the  places  which  I  have  visited,  this  is  more  given  to 
idolatry  of  money,  than  any  other  which  I  can  recollect.  The 
causes  are  very  evident.  A  valuable  commodity  is  brought  here 
in  great  abundance,  sold  for  cash,  and  forwarded  to  sell  again. 
This  being  the  case  for  a  series  of  years,  produces  a  sharp  com- 
petition— the  result  of  which  is,  that  a  majority  of  buyers  lose  by 
their  business.  Since  I  have  been  here,  cotton  has  fallen  from 
twelve  and  a  half  to  ten  cents,  just  twenty  per  cent.  When  I 
was  here  last  spring,  the  price  was  twenty-eight  cents.  Yet  a 
great  deal  of  money  is  passing  from  hand  to  hand,  and  there  is 
much  luxury,  dissipation,  and  extravagance.  Religion  is  very 
low,  and  the  prospects  of  the  church  in  this  State  rather  gloomy. 

*'  As  evening  approached,  I  conversed  with  a  religious  man  from 
Hartford,  with  respect  to  travelling  on  the  Sabbath.  I  had  felt 
reluctant  to  go  to-morrow,  but  the  necessity  appeared  so  great,* 

*  The  stage-coach  went  only  on  Sundays  and  Wednesdays.  Attempts  to  procure 
a  private  conveyance  to  go  on  Monday  were  unsuccessful,  vk^hile  Mr.  E.'s  engage- 
ments and  appointments  to  meet  missionaries,  rendered  any  delay  exceedingly  incon- 
venient. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  233 

that  we  had  made  our  calculations  to  set  out  before  day-light  in 
the  stage.  The  result  of  this  conversation  and  my  own  reflections 
was,  that  we  should  stay  till  Wednesday,  though  such  a  delay  ap- 
peared a  serious  misfortune.  If  1  had  gone,  the  fact  would  have 
been  extensively  known  here,  while  the  causes  and  motives 
could  not  have  been  known.  1  have  long  thought,  and  repeatedly 
said,  that  if  the  Sabbath  is  preserved  in  this  country,  it  must  be 
owing  to  the  strict  example  of  Christians.  I  mean  every  part  of 
this  country  ;  New  England  as  well  as  the  south. 

"  The  other  day,  while  coming  up  from  Charleston,  I  inquired 
of  the  stage  proprietor  why  he  sent  his  stage  on  the  Sabbath 
towards  Athens.  He  said  he  did  it  at  the  particular  request  of 
the  country  merchants,  who  pleaded  that  they  finished  their  busi- 
ness at  Augusta  on  Saturday,  and  wished  to  get  home  so  that  they 
might  attend  to  their  business  on  Monday.  So  deliberate  and 
concerted  a  plan  to  violate  the  Sabbath,  I  had  not  previously 
known.  By  the  operation  of  this  plan,  here  and  at  Charleston, 
we  are  detained  just  a  week  ;  and  by  the  fact  that  the  stage  here 
does  not  follow  the  arrival  of  the  stage  from  Charleston,  two  days 
more.  I  pray  that  this  delay  may  not  materially  affect  the  objects 
of  my  visit. 

"  Paid  particular  attention  to  the  concert  of  prayer,  which,  as 
you  may  remember,  the  missionaries  in  the  Choctaw  nation  agreed 
to  observe  with  reference  to  my  intended  visit.  As  you  will  prob- 
ably receive  this  not  long  after  the  time  when  I  expect  to  arrive 
at  Brainerd,  I  hope  you  and  Mr.  Anderson,  if  you  do  not  observe 
the  same  evening,  will  not  forget  this  subject  in  your  intercessions  ; 
and  that  you  will  pray  for  the  following  things  :  viz. 

"  1.  That  my  health  may  be  preserved,  so  that  I  may  perform 
the  service  assigned  me,  and  return  to  my  employments  with  suffi- 
cient strength  to  pursue  them. 

"  2.  That  the  weather  and  other  external  things  may  be  so  or- 
dered, that  I  may  not  be  prevented  from  doing  any  thing  which 
is  really  necessary  to  be  done. 

"  3.  That  I  may  visit  the  several  stations,  and  deal  with  the 
various  individuals  there  employed,  in  the  exercise  of  a  meek, 
candid,  and  faithful  spirit. 

"  4.     That  the  missionaries  and  others  may  be  actuated  by  the 
30 


234  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

benevolent  and  self-denying  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  in  all  their  rep- 
resentations, plans,  and  discussions. 

"  5.  That  those  measures  may  be  adopted,  which  shall  most 
conduce  to  the  permanent  prosperity  of  these  missions,  the  com- 
fort of  the  missionaries,  and  the  salvation  of  the  heathen. 

"  6.  That  the  teaching  and  consolations  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
may  be  graciously  afforded ;  and  that  all  concerned  may  feel  the 
indispensable  necessity  of  the  divine  blessing  in  order  to  any 
success. 

"  7.  That  souls  may  speedily  be  converted  to  God  ;  and  that 
all  hopeful  converts  may  be  preserved  from  apostasy,  and  from 
bringing  any  reproach  upon  the  cause  of  truth  and  of  missions." 

TO    H.    HILL,    ESQ. 

"  Feb.  23.  Was  greatly  annoyed  in  the  middle  of  the  night, 
by  the  swearing  and  vociferation  of  a  number  of  young  men, 
who  had  been  drinking.  I  do  not  think  I  have  heard  so  much 
swearing,  indicating  habits  of  the  grossest  profaneness,  at  any 
public  house  where  I  have  stopped,  within  the  last  twenty  years. 

"  The  people  are  all  alive  here  on  the  subject  of  the  Creek 
treaty,  anxiously  looking  for  intelligence  from  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment. I  am  told  there  is  scarcely  a  native  Georgian  in  the  state 
who  will  not  get  into  a  passion  the  moment  the  perfect 
right  of  the  state  to  the  Creek  lands  is  called  in  question.  We 
had  two  fellow  passengers  yesterday,  who  avowed  their  readiness 
to  shoulder  their  muskets  and  take  possession  by  force,  should  it  be 
necessary.  I  afterwards  learned  that  one  of  them  is  a  young  gen- 
tleman of  property,  who  was  educated  in  Yale   College,  and  is  a 

professor  of  religion — a  friend  of  revivals — and  in  general 

a  friend  of  strict  principles  and  northern  institutions.  So  much 
are  men  influenced  by  the  circumstances  in  which  they  are  placed. 
Our  driver,  however,  said  he  would  not  bear  arms  against  the 
Creeks.  He  had  lived  among  them  two  years ;  and  he  did  not 
believe  they  had  been  treated  fairly." 

TO    H.    HILL,   "ESQ. 

«  Sabbath,  Feb.  26.     This  is  the  third  Sabbath  which  I  have 
spent  far  from  religious  ordinances,  in   this  part  of  Georgia,  viz. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  335 

May  4,  1818,  at  a  Mr.  Hardy's,  formerly  a  sea  captain,  twelve 
miles  north-west  of  Athens,  where  there  was  no  preaching  at 
that  time.  The  second  Sabbath  was  spent  at  the  iiouse  of  Mr. 
Montgomery,  a  religious  man,  a  little  off  the  road,  twenty-two 
tniles  north-west  of  Athens,  April  28,  1822  ;  and  now,  after  an  in- 
terval of  four  years  more,  I  am  upon  the  same  ground  again.  I 
cannot  have  the  means  of  judging  extensively  ;  but  I  should  think 
there  had  been  very  little  alteration  in  the  moral  and  religious  state 
of  the  country  within  the  last  eight  years.  How  many  of  these 
years  of  darkness  and  moral  death  are  to  revolve,  is  known  only 
to  the  Lord  of  all,  in  whose  hands  are  the  issues  of  life.  It  is  as 
true  of  these  people  as  of  downright  heathens,  that  they  must  be 
helped  from  abroad,  or  they  will  never  come  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  truth. 

"  Several  travellers  stopped,  and  several  visitors  arrived  and 
went,  in  the  course  of  the  day  ;  but  we  had  a  room  to  ourselves, 
where  we  attended  morning  and  evening  prayers.  At  the  latter, 
I  invited  the  family  of  the  landlord  to  be  present.  All  came,  ex- 
cept himself;  that  is,  his  wife,  two  visitors,  and  five  or  six  children, 
who  gave  very  good  attention.  1  read  the  sixteenth  chapter  of 
Luke,  made  some  observations,  and  offered  a  prayer  ;  then  read  the 
latter  part  of  the  25th  of  Matthew,  made  some  observations,  and 
Mr.  Manwaring  offered  a  prayer.  We  distributed  several  tracts. 
The  family  appeared  to  have  very  few  books.  I  saw  no  Bible,  and 
intended  to  inquire  whether  they  had  any ;  but  the  proper  time 
escaped  me. 

"  Monday,  Feb,  27.  The  facts  with  which  I  became  ac- 
quainted here,  agreed  perfectly  with  what  T  had  previously  learned, 
in  convincing  me  that  this  part  of  Georgia  is  one  of  the  healthiest 
regions  in  the  LTnited  States.  The  influenza  has  prevailed  here 
lately,  and  several  persons  have  died  of  it.  But  fevers  are  scarcely 
known  here,  and  I  could  not  find  that  any  dangerous  epidemic  pre- 
vails. As  our  landlord  could  not  tell  of  a  single  disease  of  which 
people  died,  I  asked  if  there  are  any  very  old  people.  He  an- 
swered that  the  country  had  not  been  settled  long  enough  to  con- 
tain old  people,  as  the  first  inhabitants  entered  the  country  when 
they  were  young.  He  thought  about  as  many  men  died  of  being 
'killed,  as  in  any  other  way  ;  there  being  a  man  in  jail  for  murder 


236  l^IFE   OF  EVARTS. 

in  each  of  five  contiguous   counties.     The  number  of  inhabitants 
is  small." 

The  last  date  is  near  the  borders  of  what  was  then  the  Indian 
country,  in  which  Mr.  Evarts  spent  the  next  two  months  at  hard 
work,  having  inspected,  during  that  time,  eighteen  mission  stations. 
He  writes  from  Candy's  Creek,  March  1 0 — "  1  am  now  on  my  way 
to  the  Baptist  mission  in  the  Valley  Towns,  and  expect  to  return 
by  this  place  to  Brainerd,  Willstown,  and  thence  to  Creek  Path, 
Huntsville,  and  Mayhew,  where  I  shall  endeavor  to  be  on  the  first 
of  April.  It  will  be  hard  work,  however,  as  I  must  ride  every 
day  but  the  Sabbath,  and  do  a  great  deal  of  business  of  which  I 
cannot  get  time  at  present  to  make  any  record."  Again,  dating 
*'  on  the  Natchez  Trace,  ten  miles  N.  E.  of  Ai-ik-hun-nuh, 
May  1  :" 

"  During  the  last  two  weeks  and  a  half,  I  have  visited  the 
school  at  Mr.  Juzon's,  Emmaus,  Goshen,  Hachah,  (Mr.  Gleason's 
place.)  Bethel,  and  Ai-ik-hun-nuh  ;  also  the  place  of  Mr.  Wil- 
liams's residence  ; — have  travelled  three  hundred  and  forty  miles 
in  the  wilderness,  in  company  with  Messrs.  Kingsbury,  Byington, 
and  Worcester  ; — have  slept  three  times  in  the  woods  and  twice 
under  sheds  near  Indian  houses  ;  lost  our  horses  once,  when  thirty 
miles  from  any  station  ; — been  detained  for  hours  by  hazardous  and 
difficult  creeks  in  the  midst  of  swamps,  where  we  were  compelled  to 
make  our  unwilling  horses  swim,  and  to  carry  our  own  saddles  and 
baggage  across  on  slippery  logs  ; — several  times  under  peals  of 
heavy  thunder  and  threatening  rain,  and  when  the  heavens  wore  the 
most  terrific  aspect ;  twice  missed  our  way  and  were  put  to  serious 
inconvenience  ; — and  in  these  various  ways  have  been  so  much 
hindered,  that  the  two  days  assigned  for  our  journey  from  Ai-ik- 
hun-nuh  to  Elliot  were  consumed,  and  I  did  not  feel  warranted  to 
give  up  the  endeavor  to  be  in  Philadelphia  before  the  General 
Assembly  rises.  I  am  now  on  my  way  with  Mr.  Kingsbury  to 
Monroe,  where  I  hope  to  get  a  guide  and  proceed  to  the  Chicka- 
saw Bluffs,  (or  Memphis,)  in  the  S.  W.  corner  of  Tennessee, 
where  I  shall  aim  to  get  on  board  a  steamboat  for  Louisville,  Cin- 
cinnati, or  Pittsburgh.     Whether  I  shall  get  to  Philadelphia  in 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  237 

season,  depends  upon  many  Providential  dispensations,  which  we 
call  contingencies,  because  we  can  neither  foresee  nor  control 
thetn.  I  have  written  to  Mr.  Smith  and  Mr.  Howes  at  Eliot,  ex- 
pressing my  regret  that  1  could  not  visit  them.  This  station  needs 
visiting,  perhaps,  less  than  any  other;  as  the  affairs  are  managed 
with  great  judgment  and  economy  by  Mr.  Smith. 

"Though  our  late  jaunt  has  been  fatiguing  to  us  all,  and  in 
various  respects  has  not  been  a  party  of  pleasure,  yet  we  have 
been  kindly  protected  ; — have  experienced  many  interpositions  of 
Providence  :  have  enjoyed  constant  health,  had  good  appetites 
and  enough  to  eat,  slept  soundly,  and  proceeded  on  our  way 
cheerfully.  I  have  not  mentioned  these  things  to  make  much  of 
them — least  of  all  that  they  should  be  published,— but  that  you 
might  have  a  bird's  eye  view  of  our  travels. 

"  We  have  seen  some  of  the  natives  far  removed  from  the 
whites,  in  the  original  darkness  of  their  condition,  and  the  sight 
has  made  an  impression  upon  our  minds  which  nothing  else  could 
have  made. 

"  Two  things  are  very  evident  from  my  journey  :  one,  that  it  is 
for  the  interest  of  our  missions  that  all  persons  employed  in  them 
as  missionaries  and  school  masters  should  learn  the  language  of  the 
people  where  they  labor,  as  fast  as  possible  without  neglecting 
pressing  duties:  the  other,  that  well  conducted  schools  will  be 
greatly  instrumental,  sooner  or  later,  in  introducing  the  Gospel. 

"  It  is  now  time  for  me  to  take  to  my  lodgings  on  the  floor,  ex- 
pecting to  set  out  on  my  journey  at  break  of  day." 

TO    H.    HILL,    ESQ. 

Mississippi  River,  May  10,  1S26. 

"  It  may  be  of  use  to  myself,  if  I  should  live,  and  to  others 
who  may  hereafter  travel  the  same  route,  to  keep  a  full  journal  of 
what  strikes  the  eye,  or  the  mind,  while  upon  this  great  highway 
of  the  Western  States,  and  of  Central  North  America  ;  a  highway 
which  will  be  more  travelled  a  hundred  years  hence,  than  any 
other  thoroughfare  in  the  world. 

"  Monday,  May  8,  1826.  Arrived  at  Memphis,  (fourth  and 
lowest  Chickasaw  Bluff,)  at  a  quarter  past  nine  in  the  morning. 
This  place  is  seven  miles  north  of  the  line  which  separates  Ten- 


238  J-'IFE  OF  EVARTS. 

nessee  from  Mississippi.  It  is  not  yet  so  rich  or  so  populous  as 
the  ancient  capital  of  Egypt.  There  are  four  or  five  stores,  and 
perhaps  ten  log  houses,  with  two  or  three  poor  framed  houses.  A 
large  framed  house  is  to  be  erected  here  this  season  for  a  tavern. 
The  land  of  the  back  country  is  rich,  but  very  sparsely  settled, 
and  the  people  are  poor. 

"  The  victory  which  steam  has  achieved  over  the  strong  cur- 
rent, the  floods,  the  drift  wood,  and  other  numerous  obstacles  of  the 
Mississippi,  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  things  in  the  history  of 
human  improvement.  I  have  never  been  so  much  affected  with 
the  power  of  mind  over  matter,  as  in  witnessing  what  takes  place 
upon  this  river.  Soon  after  our  arrival  to-day,  the  Paragon  from 
Louisville  passed  down  the  river,  deeply  laden.  Her  progress,  at 
the  rate  of  fourteen  miles  an  hour,  may  fitly  be  compared  to  the 
march  of  a  giant.  The  commotion  which  such  a  boat  makes  in 
the  water,  extends  from  the  middle  of  the  river  in  regiilar  waves, 
which  dash  with  considerable  force  and  noise  against  each  shore, 
agitating  the  flat-bottomed  boats  and  every  thing  else  that  floats 
upon  the  surface. 

"  The  famous  Miss  Wright,*  the  tourist,  philanthropist,  and 
emancipator,  is  here,  and  desires  to  take  a  passage  up  the  river; 
but  it  is  doubtful  whether  she  would  embark  in  the  night.  I  had 
not  before  learned  that  she  has  actually  entered  upon  the  plan  of 
liberating  slaves  by  means  of  their  own  labor;  and  that  she  has 
commenced  an  establishment,  in  pursuance  of  her  plan,  not  many 
miles  from  this  place.  My  informant  says  that  she  has  purchased 
twenty  or  thirty  slaves,  who  are  to  be  made  free  when  they  shall 
have  reimbursed  the  purchase  money  by  the  avails  of  their  own 
labor;  that  she  has  set  them  at  work,  and  is  sanguine  as  to  the 
result ;  but  that  she  wants  more  funds  than  her  own  resources  can 
supply.  It  is  a  part  of  her  design,  that  the  slaves  shall  be  pre- 
pared for  liberty,  while  they  are  earning  money  to  pa}'^  for  it. 

"  As  for  myself,  I  have  no  faith  in  Miss  Wright's  capacity  to 
form  a  feasible  plan,  or  her  ability  to  execute  one  that  should  be 
formed  by  others.     In  what  kind  of  labor  she  employs  her  slaves, 

*  Frances  Wright,  of  English  birth  and  education,  of  atheistical  and  libertine  prin- 
ciples, and  afterwards  married  to  a  Frenchman  named  Darusmont. 


LIFE  OF  EVARTS.  239 

I  forgot  to  inquire  ;  but  I  suspect  that  the  funds  which  she  invests 
in  this  manner  will  be  very  insecure. 

"  In  regard  to  Memphis  and  the  neighborhood,  T  could  not  learn 
that  there  is  any  moral  culture  of  the  inhabitants.  A  IMeihodist 
preacher  has  sometimes  conducted  public  worship  ;  but  the  people 
were  not  desirous  of  hearing  him,  as  he  is  intemperate.  There 
is  not  a  school,  as  one  of  the  inhabitants  told  me,  in  all  that  part 
of  Tennessee  which  lies  west  of  the  Tennessee  river;  a  large 
tract,  over  the  whole  of  which  the  inhabitants  are  thinly  scat- 
tered.* 

"  The  number  of  Passengers  in  the  President  was  not  great  ; 
perhaps  a  dozen  in  the  cabin  and  one  hundred  on  deck.  Her 
size,  tonnage,  and  accommodations  are  not  large.  She  is  worked 
on  the  high  pressure  principle.  Our  treatment  on  board  was  very 
civil  ;  except  that  one  of  the  passengers  was  exceedingly  profane. 
His  language  was  very  offensive.  He  is  an  inhabitant  of  Louis- 
iana. Learning  that  I  was  connected  with  missions,  he  introduced 
the  subject  of  religion  by  saying  that  he  had  twice  been  near 
death  by  fevers,  and  that  he  could  never  make  hiniself  believe 
that  he  had  committed  sin  enough  to  cause  God  to  send  him  to 
hell.  I  intimated  that  he  might  be  mistaken,  to  which  he  assented  ; 
but  added  that  he  could  not  think  he  was.  He  added  that  he  was 
no  Painite,  though  he  had  been  for  two  years  of  his  life ;  that  he 
saw  the  ill  effects  of  Paine's  system  upon  the  state  of  society  ; 
that  he  read  his  Bible,  when^t  home,  every  day. 

"  We   travelled   eighty  or  ninety  miles,   by  the  course  of  the 
river,  in  the  President.     Our  progress,  when   in    motion,  was  six 

*  While  this  is  going  to  the  press,  the  following  notice  of  Memphis  falls  under  the 
editor's  eye,  which  it  may  be  worth  the  while  to  copy,  as  one  annong  the  thousand  il- 
lustrations that  might  be  collected,  of  the  rapid  progress  of  our  country  in  uioral 
and  religious  cultivation,  as  well  as  in  po[)ulation  and  in  wealth  : 

"  In  1S31,  Memphis  contained  about  three  hundred  inhabitants.  At  that  lime  there 
was  no  organized  church  in  the  place,  except  the  Presbyterian,  which  contained  eight 
or  ten  members.  There  are  now  nearly  two  hundred  and  fifty  members  m  that  church. 
This  church  raised  last  year  for  different  benevolent  purposes  at  least  three  thousand 
dollars.  The  Sabbath  School  enrolls  upwards  of  two  hundred  pupils.  The  school 
contributes  money  to  educate  two  children  in  China.  The  city  now  contains  a  popula- 
tion of  between  five  and  six  thousand  souls,  between  thirty  and  forty  lawyers, 
more  than  forty  physicians,  three  female  schools,  four  male  schools,  seven  ministers, 
five  houses  of  worship,  and  three  others  under  contract.  The  Presbyterian  Sewing 
Society  supports  one  Colporteur." 


240  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

miles  an  hour,  against  the  current,  which  in  the  middle  of  the 
river,  is  remarkably  uniform,  and  in  the  present  high  waters,  is 
thought  to  be  five  miles  an  hour.  Much  is  gained  by  the  boats, 
however,  in  running  close  by  the  banks,  in  eddies,  and  the  most 
favorable  parts  of  the  stream  ;  while,  in  descending,  they  keep 
the  thread  of  the  current,  as  it  is  termed. 

"The  Caledonia  is  a  superb  boat,  the  largest  on  the  river,  and 
was  an  object  of  great  admiration,  when  1  was  at  New  Orleans  in 
June  1824.  She  has  now  three  hundred  deck  passengers,  and 
perhaps  forty  in  the  cabin,  which  is  the  most  spacious  apartment 
of  the  kind  that  I  remember  to  have  seen.  To  come  from  the 
midst  of  the  forest,  from  sleeping  in  the  woods,  and  from  poor  log 
houses,  where  a  candle  could  scarcely  be  obtained,  to  a  splendid 
room,  surrounded  by  mirrors  and  hangings  of  scarlet  and  blue, 
filled  with  rich  furniture,  and  illuminated  with  a  profusion  of  sper- 
maceti candles,  afforded  one  of  the  most  striking  contrasts,  as  to 
externals,  that  I  had  witnessed. 

"Thursday,  May  11.  At  sunrise  entered  the  mouth  of  the 
Ohio.  The  scenery  was  beautiful.  Each  river  opened  before  us 
in  a  most  inviting  manner.  Both  appeared  of  equal  size  ;  that  is, 
of  about  the  common  width  of  the  Mississippi  from  this  place  to 
New  Orleans.  There  is  a  beautiful  farm  on  the  Missouri  side, 
opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio  ;  and  another  is  commenced  near 
the  point  of  Illinois.  Some  predict  that  this  point  will  hereafter 
be  the  site  of  a  great  city  ;  and  I  see  nothing  improbable  in  the 
supposition.  In  the  highest  floods  it  will  probably  be  overflown 
one  or  two  feet  ;  but  building  lots  may  easily  be  elevated  above 
this  danger.  The  appearance  of  the  soil  in  the  three  slates  here 
in  view  is  in  the  highest  degree  rich,  and  of  inexhaustible  fertility. 
The  distance  of  this  place  from  Memphis,  by  the  course  of  the 
river  is,  according  to  the  Western  Pilot,  205  miles.  I  think  it 
must  be  more,  as  it  is  at  least  150  miles  in  a  straight  line,  that 
is,  just  two  degrees  of  latitude  veering  considerably  towards  the 
east. 

"  The  appearance  of  the  Mississippi  and  its  banks  is  very  inter- 
esting on  several  accounts  ;  but  after  a  while  becomes  tiresome 
from  its  sameness.  The  vegetation  of  its  banks  is  of  a  beautiful 
green  ;  and  the  curves  and   points  of  the  shores   and   islands  are 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  241 

very  graceful.  Vast  quantities  of  drift  wood  are  found  on  the 
surface  when  the  water  is  high ;  and  it  is  very  often  necessary  to 
stop  the  engine,  in  order  to  avoid  breaking  the  wheels.  There  is 
one  striking  proof  of  the  strength  of  the  current,  which  I  cannot 
help  remarking.  In  cases  where  a  bank  has  been  formed  from 
the  bottom  of  the  river  to  its  surface,  near  one  side,  leaving  a  pas- 
sage for  water  enough  to  make  a  small  river,  there  is  not  only  a 
violent  current  in  this  passage,  but  the  parts  thus  separated  from 
the  mass  of  waters  are  sometimes  two  feet  lower  than  the  rest  of 
the  river,  and  the  water  runs  over  the  intervening  bank,  in  the 
midst  of  the  flood-wood,  as  over  a  dam  which  should  raise  a 
stream  two  feet.  The  shores  of  the  river  are  generally  from  six 
inches  to  one  or  two  feet  under  water  at  present.  The  trees  are 
almost  exclusively  willows  and  cotton-wood.  The  latter  is  a 
species  of  poplar,  the  leaf  and  upper  branches  of  which  greatly 
resemble  the  common  poplar  of  New  England.  The  bark  of  the 
lower  part  resembles  occasionally  that  of  the  black  ash,  or  the 
elm.  The  peculiarity  of  the  cotton-wood  seems  to  be,  that  it 
grows  well  in  standing  water.  It  is  good  for  nothing,  except  for 
fuel  when  split  and  thoroughly  dried.  On  this  the  steamboats 
will  be  obliged  ultimately  to  rely,  as  the  ash  is  nearly  exhausted 
in  many  places.  In  some  reaches  of  considerable  length  beside 
those  which  are  called  Bluffs,  the  banks  are  one,  two,  three,  and 
even  six  feet  above  the  present  level  of  waters.  The  difference 
between  high  and  low  water  mark  is  twelve  feet  at  New  Orleans ; 
twenty-five  feet  at  Natchez  ;  thirty  feet  at  Memphis ;  more  than 
that  above. 

"  My  mind  has  been  this  day  directed  to  the  meeting  of  the 
Bible  Society,  and  of  the  other  religious  charities,  which  hold 
their  anniversaries  this  week.  May  the  Great  Head  of  the  church 
direct  in  all  their  deliberations,  and  may  his  holy  name  be 
glorified. 

"In  1810  or  1811,  Mr.  Fulton  was  in  Washington,  attending 
to  an  application  for  the  first  steamboat  on  the  Ohio.  He  then 
gave  it  as  his  opinion,  that,  in  twenty  years,  there  would  be  fifty 
boats  propelled  by  steam  on  the  western  waters.  This  was 
deemed  so  extravagant  as  to  be  excused  only  by  the  pardonable 
31 


242  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

frailty  of  an  inventor.  But  now,  in  fifteen  or  sixteen  years,  170 
boats,  or  more,  have  been  built  on  these  waters,  and  considerably 
more  than  one  hundred  are  now  plying.  The  first  was  put  in 
motion  here  in  1814  ;  there  were  but  eight  in  1818  ;  twelve 
were  built  last  year  in  Cincinnati,  at  an  average  expense  of 
^20,000  each.  Twenty-four  others  were  built  between  New 
Albany  and  Pittsburgh  the  same  year. 

"  Saturday,  May  13,  1826.  The  shores  of  the  Ohio  are  beau- 
tiful, affording  a  considerable  variety  of  scenery.  I  have  as  yet 
seen  but  one  steeple,  and  that  a  small  one  ;  but  I  cannot  help  an- 
ticipating the  time,  when  the  eye  shall  be  delighted  with  churches, 
every  few  miles,  and  when  the  whole  river  shall  be  lined  with 
cities  and  villages,  indicating  a  happy  and  populous  community. 

"  Two  days  ago  I  conversed  with  Judge ,  respecting  Miss 

Wright's  plan  for  emancipating  the  blacks.  He  expressed  him- 
self very  strongly  to  this  effect,  that  the  northern  people  had  no 
business  to  say  any  thing  about  slavery, — it  was  a  thing  with 
which  they  had  no  concern  ;  they  should  leave  it  to  those  among 
whom  it  exists.  To-day  -I  proposed  to  him,  as  he  had  often  re- 
flected on  the  subject,  to  say  what  should  be  done  to  meliorate 
the  condition  of  the  blacks.  '  In  the  first  place,'  said  he,  *  send 
out  of  the  country  to  Africa,  or  Hayti,  all  the  free  negroes.'  To 
this  I  assented,  and  added,  but  what  shall  be  done  for  the  slaves  ? 
'  Let  the  same  process  be  continued,  which  is  now  commenced, 
and  in  which  the  condition  of  the  slaves  is  greatly  improved  with- 
in my  memory.  Instances  of  cruelty  are  very  rare  ;  and  in  many 
cases,  strong  attachments  are  formed  between  slaves  and  the  family 
of  their  masters.  Let  the  minds  of  masters  be  cultivated,  and 
there  is  no  calculating  what  the  result  will  be.' 

"  Arrived  at  Louisville  at  nine.  Ascertained  that  all  the  steam- 
boats now  here,  four  in  number,  will  set  out  for  some  place  up  the 
river  to-morrow  morning.  This  activity  of  public  conveyances  on 
the  Sabbath  I  find  to  be  a  very  great  evil.  I  am  very  desirous  of 
arriving  in  Philadelphia  as  soon  as  possible.  All  the  boats  set 
out  hence  on  the  Sabbath,  leaving  none  for  Monday.  If  we  do 
not  go  to-morrow,  we  must  wait  for  some  boat  to  come  down  and 
return  ;  as  none  of  the  boats  at  Shippingport  could  ascend  at  this 
stage  of  the  waters.     Besides,  two  of  the   boats   to  set  out  to- 


LIFE    OF   EVARTS.  243 

morrow  are  bound  to  Pittsburgh,  and  will  be  more  likely  to 
ascend  than  others,  should  the  river  be  low.  Yet,  pressing  as 
these  circumstances  were,  I  did  not  think  we  should  be  justified  in 
setting  out  on  the  Sabbath.  If  the  same  boat  in  which  we  came, 
had  continued  to  ascend,  the  case  would  have  been  different ;  but 
here  a  new  voyage  commences  ;  we  are  in  a  large  town,  where 
the  preaching  of  the  gospel  can  be  attended  ;  our  example  would 
be  known,  and  the  reasons  for  it  would  not  be  known.  I  have 
been  exhorting  others  not  to  travel  on  the  Sabbath  ;  and  what 
would  they  think  and  say,  if  I  were  unnecessarily  to  travel  in  the 
company  of  some  of  them,  and  leave  others  attending  public 
worship?  The  business  that  I  profess  to  have  at  heart  is  the 
Lord's  business  ;  and  he  can  promote  it  in  Philadelphia  without 
my  presence  as  well  as  with  it.  If  by  staying  here  over  the  Sab- 
bath, [  should  be  hindered  in  my  journey  till  after  the  General 
Assembly  rises,  as  I  think  not  improbable,  it  still  would  not  prove 
that  I  ought  to  have  proceeded. 

"  At  the  close  of  service,  Dr.  Blackburn  gave  notice  that  he 
should  be  absent  on  the  forenoon  of  the  next  Sabbath  ;  and  said 
he  felt  bound  to  assign  the  reason.  He  was  to  attend  at  the 
house  of  a  planter,  who  had  a  considerable  number  of  servants 
who  were  young,  and  whom  he  was  about  dedicating  to  God  in 
baptism,  as  their  guardian  and  the  person  bound  to  see  to  their 
education.  The  Dr.  added,  that  heads  of  families  were  bound  to  " 
dedicate  not  only  their  children,  but  their  servants,  bought  with 
their  money,  or  born  in  their  house,  to  God  in  baptism,  and  to  see 
to  their  Christian  education. 

"  15.  Dr.  Blackburn  assured  me  that  the  condition  of  the 
slaves  was  improving,  and  the  way  preparing  in  that  state  for 
general  emancipation. 

"  About  noon  we  took  passage  in  the  Velocipede  for  Wheeling 
or  Pittsburgh.  This  boat  was  to  have  sailed  yesterday  morning; 
but  one  of  the  engineers  was  drowned  on  Saturday  night,  and  she 
was  thus  delayed.  The  banks  of  this  river  are  here  very  beauti- 
ful, and  will  be  delightful  indeed,  when  the  country  shall  have  be^ 
come  old  and  highly  cultivated." 


244  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

At  Philadelphia,  the  important  business  that  had  made  him 
so  anxious  to  meet  the  General  Assembly,  was  satisfactorily 
arranged.  "  The  question  of  consenting  to  a  union  between  the 
two  Missionary  Societies,"  he  writes,  "  was  a  good  deal  debated. 
The  proposal  was  warmly  opposed  ;  but,  on  the  final  question, 
the  measure  was  carried  by  a  great  majority,  probably  not  more 
than  one  out  of  ten  having  voted  in  the  opposition.  The  princi- 
pal ground  of  opposition  was,  the  apprehension  that  the  mission- 
aries appointed  at  some  future  time  might  be  unsound  in  the  faith, 
as  they  would  not  be  under  the  control  of  any  church,  and  would 
not  have  given  their  assent  to  any  confession  of  their  common 
faith.  There  will  be  opposition  in  the  Dutch  church,  and  princi- 
pally on  the  same  ground."  The  meeting  of  the  Dutch  Synod, 
however,  he  did  not  wait  to  attend,  but  hastened  to  Boston, 
where  the  summer  was  spent  in  the  quiet  of  home,  and  in  the  fa- 
vorite employments  of  Christian  beneficence,  to  which  his  office 
and  position  called  him.  His  correspondence  at  this  time  touches 
upon  a  variety  of  important  subjects  : 

TO    REV.    C.    KINGSBURY. 

Boston,  June  12, 1826. 

"  All  the  brethren  and  sisters  will  do  well,  I  think,  to  read  the 
New  Testament,  making  personal  application  to  themselves,  as 
connected  with  a  mission,  of  all  the  passages  which  relate  to 
Christian  intercourse,  Christian  sympathy,  and  the  bad  effects  of 
evil  surmisings,  &z;c. 

"  Why  should  you  not  all  be  encouraged  by  what  God  is  doing 
at  the  Sandwich  Islands  ?  The  Choctaws  are  equally  within  the 
reach  of  his  grace.  1  have  reason  to  believe,  that  every  individ- 
ual connected  with  the  Choctaw  mission  as  a  laborer,  would  re- 
joice in  such  a  state  of  things  as  Mr.  Richards  describes  at  La- 
haina.  It  would  amply  repay  the  labors  of  a  whole  life,  if  a 
missionary  could  see  inquiring  natives  anxiously  desirous  of  salva- 
tion, and  flying  from  the  wrath  to  come.  Why  should  not  mis- 
sionaries in  every  land  look  forward  to  such  a  state  of  things  with 
-holy  confidence  in  God  ?     Why  should  they  not   labor  diligently 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  245 

and  strenuously  and  cheerfully  in  this  expectation  ?     Oh  that  the 
Lord  would  impart  to  them,  and  their  advisers  and  directors — 

'  The  high  endeavor  and  the  glad  success, 
The  strength  to  suffer,  and  the  will  to  serve.' " 

TO    THE    K.EV.    DANIEL    S.    BUTRICK. 

Boston,  June  20,  1826. 

"I  reached  home  on  the  9th  instant,  having  experienced  much 
of  the  Divine  favor  on  my  way.  There  are  many  things  to  en- 
courage us  in  our  missionary  work,  as  well  as  many  to  humble  us. 
The  union  of  the  Board  with  the  United  Foreign  Missionary  Soci- 
ety has  been  consented  to  by  both  the  ecclesiastical  judicatories 
to  which  it  was  referred.  But  we  shall  greatly  need  judicious  and 
faithful  agents,  and  great  labor  will  be  required,  before  the  friends 
of  missions  throughout  the  country  can  be  organized  so  as  to  afford 
those  resources  which  the  missionary  cause  demands. 

"  Your  terms  with  Mr. are   very  reasonable,   and   the 

expense  trifling.  I  would  advise  you  to  adhere  exactly  to  these 
terms,  and  not  contribute  any  other  than  the  stipulated  articles. 
My  principal  reason  is,  that  all  uncivilized  people  need  to  be 
taught  by  example  the  benefit  of  an  exact  execution  of  contracts  ; 
and  it  is  quite  injurious  to  them  to  give  a  great  deal  more  than 
you  promise  to  do.  It  tends  to  n^ake  them  dissatisfied,  even 
when  they  are  generously  dealt  with,  and  leads  them  to  think 
that  all  are  indebted  to  them,  while  they  are  indebted  to  nobody. 

"  1  strongly  desire  that  abundant  pains   should   be   taken  with 

Mr.  ,   Mr. ,   and  others,  (Cherokee  converts,)  to 

preserve  them  from  falling,  to  recover  any  of  them  from  their  wan- 
derings, to  instruct  them  in  the  duties  of  piety,  justice,  kindness, 
industry,  &;c.  No  Christian  virtue  can  grow  without  cultivation. 
Regenerate  men  cannot  make  advances  in  piety,  unless  they  are 
taught  by  human  instrumentality  ; — at  least,  the  cases  are  very- 
rare,  in  which  the  human  character  is  much  improved  without 
those  means  which  God  requires  us  to  use.  Be  diligent,  there- 
fore, in  teaching  these  men  from  house  to  house.  You  can  ac- 
complish much  by  simply  telling  them  what  good  men  do  in 
Christian  lands,  leaving  the  application  to  be  made  by  themselves. 
"  You  do  not  mention  the  state  of  I.'s  health.     I  feel   a  great 


246  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

interest  in  that  youth.  From  what  I  learn,  he  is  affected  with  an 
incurable  malady.  Do  request  him,  from  me,  to  consider  whether 
his  peace  is  made  with  God,  and  exhort  him  to  believe  and  be 
saved.  If  you  have  D.  with  you,  try  to  gain  him  also  to  be  on 
the  Lord's  side,  and  to  advance  towards  happiness  and  heaven. 

"  Remember  me  kindly  to  the  brethren  whose  names  have  been 
mentioned  in  this  letter.  May  grace,  mercy,  and  peace,  abound 
with  them  all." 

TO    JOHN    NITCHIE,    ESQ. 

Boston,  June  24, 1S26. 

"  I  sincerely  thank  you  for  the  very  interesting  account  which 
you  have  given  of  the  discussions  in  the  Dutch  Synod  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  Union.  I  hope  I  am  in  some  measure  thankful  to  God 
for  the  happy  issue  of  these  discussions  ;  for  happy  I  must  call 
.  the  issue,  notwithstanding  there  was  so  much  hesitation  in  comins: 
to  it.  I  have  no  doubt  but  the  debates,  both  in  the  General  As- 
sembly and  in  your  Synod,  will  be  productive  of  much  good. 
The  attention  of  many  will  have  been  thus  drawn  to  the  subject; 
the  friends  of  foreign  missions  and  of  the  union  will  be  roused  to 
greater  activity,  than  if  no  opposition  had  been  made  ;  some  of 
the  opposers  themselves  will  be  convinced,  and  will  become  hearty 
in  the  cause  ;  and  when  the  matter  comes  fairly  before  the  people, 
as  I  hope  it  will  come  before  them  in  our  labors  to  produce  a 
thorough  organization,  I  have  not  the  least  doubt  but  a  great  ma- 
jority of  the  piety,  good  sense,  humanity  and  benevolence  of  the 
Dutch  church  will  ultimately  be  enlisted  in  behalf  of  the  heathen. 

"  After  I  saw  you  the  other  day,  I  conversed  with  several  gen- 
tlemen on  the  best  time  and  manner  of  making  a  general  effort  in 
the  city  of  New  York.  All  agreed  in  the  opinion  that  the  first 
effort  made  in  the  city,  after  the  union  shall  have  been  consum- 
mated, ought  to  be  a  general  effort,  a  great  effort,  and  made  with 
all  the  advantages  of  which  we  can  avail  ourselves." 

TO    MESSRS.    BIRD    AND    GOODELL MISSIONARIES,    BEYROOT. 

Boston,  June  29, 1S26. 
"  When  I  was  at  Mayhew,  on  the  10th  of  April,  I  first  learned 
the  melancholy  fact  that  Mr.  Fisk  had  been  called  away  from  his 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  347 

field  of  labor — melancholy  when  regarded  in  its  bearing  on  the 
people  of  Western  Asia,  and  upon  the  present  interests  of  our 
Board  ;  hut  joyful  when  considered  as  the  kind  and  gracious  sum- 
mons of  his  Divine  Master  to  a  state  of  freedom  from  sin  and  ev- 
erlasting rewards.  There  is  no  need  that  I  should  write  about 
our  dearly  beloved  friend,  who  has  thus  unexpectedly  been  re- 
moved from  us.  I  have  esteemed  him  one  of  the  ablest  and  most 
judicious  missionaries  whom  the  Christian  world  has  recently  em- 
ployed to  promote  the  interests  of  Zion.  1  am  so  much  accus- 
tomed, however,  to  experience  losses  and  disappointment  in  the 
missionary  work,  and  to  look  upon  heaven  as  a  release  from  the 
contamination  of  sin,  and  I  have  so  strong  a  conviction  that  what- 
ever our  heavenly  Father  does  is  right,  that  I  cannot  feel  like 
mourning  much,  when  our  most  beloved  friends,  who  have  given 
good  evidence  of  faith  in  Christ,  are  removed  from  us.  Still  it  is 
a  solemn  truth,  that  the  removal  of  burning  and  shining  lights 
very  often  is  followed  by  the  encroachments  of  the  empire  of  dark- 
ness over  regions  upon  which  light  had  begun  to  shine.  When 
spiritual  guides  are  taken  away,  it  is  often  in  anger,  and  the  poor 
perishing  people  are  left  to  grope  in  error  and  sin.  We  ought  to 
pray  earnestly,  therefore,  that  the  lives  of  faithful  missionaries 
and  ministers  may  be  spared,  and  that  their  number  may  be  in- 
creased a  hundred  fold.  How  will  the  world  otherwise  become 
enlightened,  reclaimed,  converted,  sanctified  and  saved  ?  " 

TO  REV.  WILLIAM  POTTER,  CHEROKEES. 

Boston,  July  3, 1826. 

"  1  have  the  happiness  to  say  that,  by  the  favor  of  Providence, 
I  reached  home  on  the  9ih  ult.,  not  having  experienced  a  mo- 
ment's sickness  since  I  was  confined  in  your  chamber. 

"I  feel  great  interest  in  the  success  of  your  station,  especially 
in  its  spiritual  success.  While  God  is  pouring  out  his  Spirit  upon 
so  many  parts  of  our  land,  upon  our  colleges  and  schools,  upon 
our  young  people,  upon  infidels  and  profligates,  is  it  too  much  to 
hope  that  he  may  shed  down  the  same  glorious  and  divine  influ- 
ence upon  the  Cherokees  at  all  the  stations?  Pray  earnestly  for 
this  ;  and  to  your  prayers,  join  constant  and  faithful  labor ;  and 
may  the  Lord  grant  you  his  blessing." 


248  LIFE  OF  EVARTS. 


TO    MR.    MOSES    JEWELL,    EMMAUS,    CHOCTAWS. 

Boston,  July  17th,  1S26. 

"  The  notice  which  you  take  of  my  late  visit,  and  the  effect 
which  you  ascribe  to  it,  have  a  sensible  influence  in  reviving  the  im- 
pressions made  upon  my  mind  while  passing  through  the  Choctaw 
nation.  1  have  always  had  a  great  desire  to  form  a  personal  ac- 
quaintancetwith  all  our  missionaries,  and  have  regretted  that  in 
any  one  instance,  as  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Howes,  I  have  been  dis- 
appointed. It  is  not  in  human  nature  to  feel  so  much  for  those 
whom  we  never  saw,  as  we  should  feel,  if,  beside  all  our  other  means 
of  knowing  their  characters,  we  had  conferred  with  them  face  to 
face,  on  the  most  mteresting  subjects,  and  had  witnessed  their 
manner  of  speaking  and  conceiving  of  things.  Since  I  left  Em- 
maus,  my  mind  has  often  reverted  to  your  place,  and  I  have  fre- 
quently wished  our  various  interviews,  particularly  our  last  ride, 
could  have  been  prolonged. 

"  Our  Committee  are  so  fully  convinced  of  the  importance  of 
such  an  acquaintance  as  you  mention,  that  we  now  send  for  the 
candidates  for  missionary  employment,  that  they  spend  some  time 
in  Boston  for  that  special  purpose.  There  is  a  young  man  at  the 
Rooms  now,  who  may  probably  become  a  school-master  in  the 
Choctaw  nation,  and  I  expect  others  for  other  missions  in  a  few 
weeks.* 

"  Beyond  a  doubt,  the  best  help  you  can  have  is  that  of  good 
missionaries,  persons  willing  to  spend  and  be  spent  for  the  sake  of 
Christ  and  the  heathen ;  persons  who  love  work,  and  who  always 
expect  and  wish  to  do  as  much  as  their  strength  will  admit,  and 
who  patiently  leave  the  result  to  Providence.  It  is  not  a  vain 
thing  to  hope  that  such  persons  may  be  employed,  for  we  have 
examples  of  the  most  gratifying  nature  in  our  various  missions. 
It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  sometimes  persons  who  are 
not  habitually  industrious,  mistake  their  calling,  and  find  their 
way  into  the  missionary  field.  Such  things  must  be  expected  in 
the  imperfections  of  human  affairs.     But   even  this  class   should 

*  This  practice  has  since  been  adopted  formally  by  the  Committee,  as  a  rule  in  re- 
gard to  all  candidates. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  249 

not  be  regarded  as  useless  and  hopeless.  By  mild  expostulations, 
by  kind  treatment,  by  showing  them  the  nature  of  their  obliga- 
tions and  the  necesshy  of  vigorous  exertions,  and  especially  by 
setting  them  a  good  example,  they  may  be  greatly  improved 
in  their  characters. 

"  Your  application  for  assistants  will  be  laid  before  the  Com- 
mittee, and  we  shall  do  what  we  can  for  the  benefit  of  your  sta- 
tion. We  must  depend  for  assistants  on  those  whom  the  Lord 
sends,  after  we  have  used  the  proper  means  of  inquiry.  In  order 
to  lessen  the  burden  of  your  cares,  I  would  suggest  the  following 
hints  : 

"  1.  Lay  out  no  new  business,  unless  the  state  of  the  mission 
imperiously  demand  it. 

*'  2.  In  transacting  old  business,  or  following  up  an  old  plan, 
act  as  steadily  as  possible,  so  that  some  advances  may  be  made 
every  day. 

"  3.  When  disappointments  occur,  receive  them  mildly  and 
patiently,  and  limit  the  evil  of  them  as  much  as  possible. 

"  I  am  sorry  you  did  not  mention  the  state  of  the  school,  as  I 
am  very  desirous  to  know  how  education  advances  at  all  the  sta- 
tions. Please  request  Mr.  Gage  to  write  concerning  the  con- 
duct of  the  boys,  out  of  school  as  well  as  in,  and  to  make  any 
suo-crestions  which  he  thinks  will  be  useful  to  the  Committee. 

TO     A     GENTLEMAN     AT    WASHINGTON,     WHO     HAD    SUGGESTED    SOME 

MODIFICATIONS    OF    THE    PLAN    ADOPTED    IN    REGARD    TO 

MISSIONS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

Boston,  July  28, 1S26. 

"Though  occupied  with  pressing  business,  I  have  read  your 
letter,  and  conversed  respecting  the  subject  with  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Vaill,  a  missionary  who  has  resided  nearly  six  years  in  the 
Indian  country,  and  is  well  acquainted  whh  the  character  of  at 
least  one  tribe,  the  Osages.  He  has  also  seen  much  of  the  Chero- 
kees.  I  have  myself  made  four  visits  to  missions  among  the 
Indians,  and  within  the  last  six  months,  have  personally  inspected 
eighteen  missionary  stations. 

"  Though  I  feel  a  sincere  respect  for  any  exhibition  of  benevo- 
lence in  behalf  of  our  Indians,  I  must  frankly  state  that  I  think 
32 


250  LIFE   OF   EVARTS. 

your  plan,  so  far  as  its  peculiarities  are  concerned,  is  erroneous, 
and  will  not  be  successful. 

"  The  project  of  intermixing  white  settlers  with  Indians,  is  one 
to  which,  of  all  others,  they  have  the  most  unconquerable  ob- 
jections. 1  mean  to  except  mission  families  and  such  mechanics 
as  the  Indians  themselves  send  for.  There  are  weighty  reasons 
why  the  persons  who  are  to  aid  in  civilizing  the  Indians  should 
be  few,  and  of  the  most  select  character.  I  have  not  time  to  state 
them.  You  will  find  the  subject  treated  with  great  wisdom  and 
perspicuity  in  Dr.  Dwight's  Travels,  vol.  3.  Modern  discoveries 
have  added  nothing  to  the  principles  there  laid  down.  In  a  word, 
such  tribes  as  the  Cherokees  and  Choctaws,  who  have  entered 
upon  a  system  of  proceedings  with  reference  to  this  matter,  would 
not  permit  the  government  to  portion  out  their  lands  to  settlers. 
The  more  wandering  tribes  will  never  settle  side  by  side  with  the 
whites.  And,  in  either  case,  if  the  plan  were  adopted,  the  Indians 
"would  sink,  and  gradually  disappear,  from  the  single  consideration 
of  the  inferiority  which  they  would  daily  feel,  and  under  the 
withering  influence  of  which  they  would  become  extinct,  as  many 
tribes  have  become  extinct  before  them. 

"  As  to  teaching  the  English  language,  agriculture,  the  me- 
chanic arts,  &:c.,  it  is  exactly  what  our  Board  and  other  societies 
have  been  doing  for  the  last  ten  years,  and  the  reasons  for  which 
you  will  find  in  our  Annual  Reports  much  at  large.  The  advan- 
tage of  communicating  the  English  language  has  always  been  a 
favorite  and  familiar  topic  with  us  ;  yet  experience  has  proved  to  our 
full  conviction,  that  it  is  a  more  difficult  thing  to  teach  English,  even 
to  the  children,  than  we  had  at  first  supposed  ;  and  that  it  is  wise  for 
some  of  the  persons  at  every  missionary  establishment,  to  learn  the 
language  spoken  by  the  Indians  at  that  place.  This  is  useful  on 
every  account ;  but  especially  as  the  medium  of  communicating 
divine  truth  to  the  minds  of  the  adult  population. 

"  I  am  constrained  to  differ  from  you  as  to  the  duty  of  preach- 
ing the  Gospel  to  the  natives  as  soon  as  possible.  There  is  abun- 
dant, proof  from  the  days  of  Eliot  to  tlie  present  year,  that  the 
word  of  God,  brought  home  to  the  mind  of  an  Indian,  is  capable 
of  producing  an  entire  moral  change;  and  this  change  operates 
with  more  power  in  promoting  civilization,  than  all  other  causes 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  251 

whatever.  I  have  known  many  families  perfectly  civilized  in  this 
manner.  I  have  never  known  one  person  civlHzed  by  mere  per- 
suasion, or  by  convincing  him  that  he  would  be  more  comfortable, 
or  mora  happy,  than  in  his  native  state,  though  many  are  ready 
enough  to  admit  the  conclusion. 

Schools,  farms,  and  shops  are  good  auxiliaries ;  and  without 
them  a  good  state  of  society  cannot  exist,  nor  can  the  institutions  of 
religion  be  permanently  enjoyed.  But  all  these  things  will  not 
civilize  a  single  tribe,  if  made  to  occupy  the  principal  place.  At 
least,  such  are  the  results  of  our  reasoning  and  experience. 

"  While  I  say  this,  I  wish  to  be  understood  as  entirely  approving 
the  use  made  by  government  of  the  ten  thousand  dollars  fund. 
Let  that  be  applied,  as  it  has  been,  for  the  support  of  schools,  &;c. 
But  let  it  be  observed  that  these  schools  could  not  be  supported  as 
they  have  been,  unless  missionary  societies  had  expended  a  much 
larger  sum." 

TO    AN    AGENT    OF    THE    BOARD. 

Boston,  August  13, 1626. 

"  Mr.  Anderson  has,  at  my  request,  written  some  brief  directions. 
I  will  only  add  that  I  think  you  will  do  well  to  keep  the  following 
points  in  mind  : 

"  1st.  That  an  ardent  love  to  the  cause  of  Christ  is  the  best 
prompter  to  exertion. 

"  2d.  That  caution  and  enterprise  must  be  united,  to  make  a 
successful  agent. 

"  3d.  That  it  should  be  deeply  impressed  upon  the  minds  of 
agents,  how  much  depends  on  getting  z.  few  persons,  of  each  sex, 
in  every  town,  heartily  engaged  in  the  cause  of  missions,  and  de- 
termined to  carry  the  plan  of  the  Board  into  execution.  All  can- 
not be  expected  to  feel  an  equal  interest  in  these  great  concerns, 
nor  have  all  an  equal  talent  to  excite  interest  in  others.  While 
you  should  endeavor  to  awaken  the  whole  community,  you  will  be 
aware  that  pecuhar  pains  should  be  taken  in  private,  to  confirm, 
and  establish,  and  encourage  those  who  are  to  take  a  lead  in  the 
places  where  they  live. 

"  4th.  Take  care  to  guard  against  delays  and   procrastination 


252  *        I^IFE   OF  EVARTS. 

in  these  movements.  People  are  all  inclined  to  say  (or  nearly 
all)  that  the  present  is  an  unfavorable  time.  No  doubt  the  calls 
are  pressing  every  where,  and  pecuniary  embarrassments  are  ex- 
tensively felt ;  but  the  wants  of  the  world  are  imperious,  and  will 
never  be  less  so  without  human  exertion. 

"  5lh.  You  will  explain  to  the  different  societies,  in  what  man- 
ner they  can  make  remittances,  and  how  they  are  to  apply  for  the 
Missionary  Herald. 

"  6th.  If  you  hear  objections  to  the  missionaries,  or  their  man- 
ner of  conducting  missions,  or  to  the  measures  of  the  Board,  you 
will  cultivate  a  mild  and  candid  spirit — will  say  that  it  is  not  safe 
to  take  up  an  opinion  against  these  operations  on  slight  grounds, 
and  that  it  is  easy  to  be  mistaken  in  such  matters,  unless  all  the 
facts  and  circumstances  are  known. 

*'  7th.  Let  the  tendency  of  all  you  do  or  say  be,  to  raise  a  high 
standard  of  Christian  duty  in  respect  to  benevolent  exertions  and 
the  sacrifice  of  property. 

"  8th.  Endeavor  to  make  your  hearers  feel  a  responsibility  for 
keeping  up  the  old  missions  and  for  sending  forth  new  ones.  Show 
the  unreasonableness  of  shifting  the  responsibility  upon  others.  The 
interests  of  Christ's  kingdom  are  equally  the  interests  of  all  his 
disciples,  and  not  the  interests  of  a  few  only.  With  these 
hasty  directions,  which,  however,  are  prompted  by  considerable 
experience,  I  am,  &;c." 

TO    A    FRIEND    IN    VIRGINIA A    NATIVE    OF    THAT    STATE. 

Boston,  August  8,  1826. 

^'What  is  to  be  done  with  the  blacks  of  this  country?  There  are 
several  preliminary  questions.  The  first  is,  Are  we  bound  to  the 
profoundest  silence  on  the  whole  subject  of  slavery,  in  all  its  rela- 
tions, and  with  respect  to  all  its  consequences  ? 

"I  should  like  to  see  you  take  up  the  negative  of  this  question, 
and  pursue  it  till  there  should  be  no  room  to  doubt  on  the  subject. 
Is  it  possible  that  we  should  have  two  million  souls  among  us,  in 
a  peculiar  condition,  and  that  we  should  be  debarred  the  use  of 
pen  and  ink,  of  speech  and  thought  concerning  them  ?  Especially, 
when  these  two  million  will  increase  to  six  million,  at  a  very  low 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  253 

estimate,  in  the  short  space  of  fifty  years,  if  nothing  is  done  to 
remove  them  ?     Besides,  if  it  were  our  duty  to  be  silent,  who  shall 
compel  the  "  wilderness  of  free  minds,"  spread  over  this  vast  con- 
tinent, to  remain  unmoved  ?     And   if  the  subject  must  be  thought 
of  and  talked  about ;  and  if  men  will  be  so  obstinate  as  to  write 
even  ;  and  if  it   is  little   short   of  treason   for  a  northern   man  to 
take  any  interest  in   the  matter  ; — why  should  not  southern  men 
take  hold  of  it  with  zeal,  and  resolution,  and  a  steady  hand  ?  Why 
should  they  not  discuss  this  mighty  argument  in   a  manner  which 
becomes  it — avowing  principles — showing   their  principles  to   be 
defensible  on  the  grounds  of  reason,  justice,  Scripture,  our  politi- 
cal   professions,  kindness,   humanity,  benevolence — laying    down 
plain  and  palpable  rules  for  the  relation   of  master  and  slave — 
coming  forward  with  their  projects  for  the  future — telling  the  world 
how    far   slavery    is   to   be    a    matter  of  necessity,  and   how  far 
it   is  to  be  fostered  as  a  desirable  thing — a  lovely  evil  : — Finally, 
they  should  be  brought  to  feel  and  to  avow   that  they  must  make 
up  their  minds  to  think   and  act,  or  others  will;  think  and  act  for 
them.     I  do  not  mean   in   an    unconstitutional  way,  but   in   some 
way,  which  shall  have  a  real  and  permanent  effect. 

"I  am  not  for  violent  measures.  There  is  not  one  northern  man 
in  a  hundred  for  violent  measures.  Probably  1  should  be  consid- 
ered rather  as  an  apologist  for  slavery ;  because  I  believe  it  would 
be  right,  and  pleasing  to  God,  that  this  relation  should  grad-  H 
ually  cease,  considering  the  present  necessity,  rather  than  that  a 
sudden  and  universal  emancipation  should  take  place,  even  with 
the  cheerful  consent  of  every  slave-holder.  It  would  be  right, 
however,  that  every  slave-holder  should  feel  willing  to  let  his 
slaves  go  free  as  fast  as  their  best  interests  could  be  provided 
for,  and  should  lend  his  counsels,  his  influence,  and  his  prayers, 
that  such  a  provision  may  be  speedily  made." 

TO    KAAHUMANU,  A    CHIEF    WOMAN    AT    THE    SANDWICH    ISLANDS. 

Boston,  August  21,  1826 

"Much  love  to  you,  my  friend.  I  have  heard  many  things  of 
you  in  past  years.  Your  kind  acts  to  the  missionaries  were  not 
forgotten  by  them.     They  wrote  of  them  to  us  in  their  letters. 


254  I^IFE  OF  EVARTS. 

But  the  greatest  and  best  thing  which  we  have  heard  of  you  is, 
that  you  love  the  word  of  Jehovah,  and  trust  in  Jesus  Christ  for 
salvation.  To  hear  of  this,  gave  us  all  great  joy,  and  to  see  it  all 
written  in  your  letter  to  me,  made  me  feel  very  happy.  1  give 
thanks  to  God,  our  Heavenly  Father,  for  what  he  has  done  for  you 
and  the  people  of  your  Islands. 

And  now  let  me  exhort  you  to  lead  a  holy  life — a  life  of  prayer, 
and  to  labor  for  the  good  of  the  young  King  and  his  sister,  that 
they  may  become  the  children  of  God,  and  may  be  preserved  from 
the  evils  which  are  about  in  the  world.  Our  blessed  Saviour  has 
said,  "  How  hardly  shall  they  that  have  riches,  enter  the  kingdom 
of  God  !"  And  it  is  so  with  rulers  and  great  men.  They  are  full 
of  cares.  They  have  many  things  to  do.  They  are  often  sur- 
rounded with  evil  men,  who  tempt  them  to  act  wickedly.  But 
praised  be  the  name  of  the  Lord,  he  has  mercy  upon  some  great 
men,  and  rich  men,  and  kings,  as  well  as  upon  the  poor,  and  those 
in  a  low  condition. 

"  And  we  rejoice  greatly  that  you,  and  Karaimoku,  and  other 
chiefs,  are,  as  we  hope,  brought  into  the  fold  of  Christ.  Oh  may 
you  be  preserved  there,  and  delivered  from  every  enemy  of  your 
peace,  and  be  prepared  for  heavenly  rest  !  We  pray  for  you  often, 
and  we  ask  you  to  pray  for  us,  that  we  may  all  meet  before  our 
Father's  throne. 

"  We  wish  all  the  men  and  women  and  all  the  children  of 
your  Islands,  to  learn  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  which  is  the  beginning 
of  wisdom.  I  send  my  kind  salutations  to  Opiia,  to  Boki,  to  Kai- 
kioeva,  and  the  other  chiefs.  Let  Boki  always  remember  the 
good  advice  given  him  by  the  King  of  England. 

"  May  the  kind  and  merciful  Saviour  preserve  you  from  sin  and 
receive  you  to  himself,  and  to  him  be  the  glory  forever,  amen. 
Your  friend  in  the  Gospel." 

TO    KARAIMOKU,   A  CHIEF    MAN  AT    THE    SANDWICH    ISLANDS. 

Boston,  August  21,  1S26. 

"  Much  love  to  you,  Karaimoku.  Your  letter  to  me  came  to 
my  hands  safely.  I  thank  you  for  it.  The  people  here  are  very 
glad   to  learn  that  you  have  forsaken  your  old  ways,  and  that  you 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  255 

love  the  word  of  Jehovah.  May  you  love  his  word  more  and 
more.  May  your  mind  be  enlightened  ;  may  your  heart  be  filled 
with  good  desires  ;  and  may  you  be  prepared  for  heaven. 

*'  Be  friendly  to  the  missionaries,  who  went  from  this  country  to 
teach  your  people.  They  need  your  help,  so  that  they  may 
preach  to  all  your  people. 

"Let  the  children  all  learn  to  read  the  word  of  God.  They 
will  then  know  what  Jehovah  requires  them  to  do. 

"  The  Sabbath  should  be  strictly  observed.  God  gave  it  to 
man  in  great  kindness  and  love.  By  honoring  the  Sabbath,  we 
honor  God  who  appointed  it. 

"  You  know  that  the  missionaries  speak  the  truth  ;  that  they 
love  you  much ;  and  that  their  labor  for  the  salvation  of  your 
souls  is  great. 

"  Mr.  Stewart  has  just  arrived  here.  He  has  spoken  of  you 
with  much  kind  affection.  He  greatly  desires  the  good  of  your- 
self and  your  people.  His  wife  is  much  better  in  health  than 
when  she  left  the  islands.  We  hope  she  will  be  entirely  well,  and 
that  she  will  return  to  you  again. 

"■  Trust  in  Jehovah,  and  you  will  be  safe.  Be  afraid  of  sin. 
Some  of  the  chiefs  of  the  South  Sea  Islands,  after  they  appeared 
to  have  become  the  servants  of  God,  have  fallen  into  sin,  and  have 
been  separated  from  the  people  of  God.  This  is  a  great  evil. 
Pray  much  against  this,  and  be  much  on  your  guard. 

"  I  very  much  desire  that  you  may  serve  God  faithfully,  and  be 
received  at  last  to  dwell  with  him  in  heaven.  Your  affectionate 
friend  in  the  Gospel." 

TO    MRS.    HALL. 

Boston,  September  5, 1826. 

**  Before  you  open  the  inclosed  letters,  or  proceed  far  in  reading 
these  lines,  permit  me  to  request  that  you  spend  a  few  moments 
in  prayer  to  God,  that  he  would  enable  you  to  receive  any  intelli- 
gence here  communicated  with  a  composure  and  submission  which 
shall  be  pleasing  in  his  sight. 

"  Last  evening,  while  we  were  at  the  monthly  concert,  it  was 
reported  that  a  vessel  had  arrived  directly  from  Bombay.    Toward 


256  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

the  close  of  the  meeting,  letters  were  brought  in,  and  we  learned 
that  mournful  news  were  probably  contained  in  them.  We  found 
occasion  to  recur  to  those  great  principles  which  authorize  us  to 
rely  at  all  times  upon  the  mercy,  kindness,  faithfulness,  and  right- 
eousness of  all  God's  dealings  with  mankind,  and  upon  his  peculiar 
favors  to  his  own  children.  Though  he  chastens  them  for  a  season, 
yet  he  will  never  leave  them  nor  forsake  them,  and  the  afflictions 
which  they  experience,  though  for  the  present  not  joyous,  but 
grievous,  will  work  out  for  them  an  eternal  weight  of  glory. 

"  One  of  the  first  letters  upon  which  I  fixed  my  eyes,  was 
written  by  Mr.  Hall  himself,  at  the  close  of  which  he  infoimed  me 
that  he  was  just  setting  out  on  a  preaching  tour  in  the  interior. 
This  was  dated  the  second  of  March. 

"  From  other  sources  I  soon  learned  that  he  proceeded  on  his 
tour,  and  was  diligently  employed  in  his  work  for  more  than  two 
weeks.  The  cholera  prevailed  extensively  in  the  country  through 
which  he  passed. 

"  On  the  twentieth  of  the  month  your  beloved  husband  was 
seized  with  that  terrible  disorder.  It  would  seem  that  he  had  the 
command  of  his  faculties  ;  that  he  prescribed  for  himself;  that  he 
prayed,  and  repeatedly  ascribed  glory  to  God.  The  time  of  his 
departure  had  arrived.  At  twelve  o'clock  his  spirit  was  released 
from  the  body,  and  I  doubt  not,  was  received  by  his  Saviour. 

"  And  now,  my  dear  Madam,  what  remains,  but  that  you  seek 
of  your  Heavenly  Father  those  consolations  which  He  can  only 
give.  We  tenderly  commend  you  and  your  little  boy  to  his  pater- 
nal care,  and  we  ask  for  you  his  blessing.  We  sympathize  with 
you  in  your  sorrows,  and  shall  be  ready  to  afford  you  all  the  aid 
and  counsel  in  our  power. 

"  May  you  be  enriched  with  spiritual  consolations,  and  guided 
in  the  way  of  life  and  peace." 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  Board  was  held  at  New  Haven. 
The  year  had  been  one  of  uncommon  religious  activity,  and  Mr. 
Evarts  was  much,  but  very  pleasantly  employed,  while  at  home,  in 
various  consultations  and  labors  for  the  promotion  of  the  Lord's 
kingdom.  The  week,  had  passed  away,  leaving  behind  a  lively 
impression  of  encouragement  and  increasing  hope.      His  labors 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  257 

were  evidently  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord.  He  left  home  with  a 
full  heart.  The  spirit  that  he  had  labored  for  so  many  years  to 
promote,  was  diffusing  itself  over  the  land,  and  its  fruits  were  seen 
in  numerous  revivals  of  religion,  in  the  multiplication  of  benevo- 
lent societies,  and  in  their  increased  activity  and  power.  The  at- 
mosphere was  becoming  more  congenial  ;  and  his  desires  and 
hopes  were  expressed  in  the  Annual  Report,  with  the  freedom  and 
energy  that  belong  to  discourse  on  mighty  interests,  when  the 
speaker  is  sure  of  the  hearer's  sympathy.* 

"  At  none  of  our  previous  meetings,"  he  says,  "  have  the  reasons 
for  mutual  congratulation,  or  the  excitements  to  united  thanksgiv- 
ing, been  more  numerous  or  more  delightful.  Whether  we  direct 
our  attention  to  the  manifest  increase  of  divine  light  in  the  regions 
of  darkness  where  our  missions  have  been  planted; — to  the  rapid 
progress  of  education,  under  the  fostering  care  of  this  Board,  and  of 
numerous  kindred  institutions ; — to  the  power  which  truth  is  now 
exerting,  wherever  it  is  brought  to  bear  upon  the  prejudices,  the 
superstitions,  and  the  idolatries  of  many  generations ; — to  the  re- 
markable exhibitions  of  mercy  in  the  revivals  of  religion,  especially 
in  our  colleges  and  schools,  by  which  the  past  year  has  been 
greatly  distinguished ; — to  the  earnest  thus  given,  that  the  supply 
of  faithful  ministers  and  missionaries  shall  not  fail,  and  the  proof 
thus  furnished,  that  the  Lord  of  missions,  ever  mindful  of  his 
promise,  is  operating,  according  to  his  established  plan,  by  means 
and  instruments  provided  in  due  season  and  proper  order ; — to  the 
field  for  evangelical  labor,  opening  and  expanding,  in  many  direc- 
tions, as  far  as  our  vision  can  extend ; — to  the  simultaneous  move- 
ment of  the  great  religious  charities  of  the  day,  all  informed  by  the 
same  living  principle,  and  advancing  with  equal  and  unfaltering 
step  in  the  same  upward  course  ; — to  the  general  conviction  which 
has  taken  possession  of  reflecting  minds,  that  some  great  change 
m  the  intellectual  and  moral  condition  of  our  race  is  near ; — to  the 
increased  facilities  for  concentrated  and  powerful  action,  afforded 
by  the  late  happy  union  of  this  Board  with  a  sister  institution  ; — 
or  to  the  '  earnest  expectation  of  the  heathen  world,'  more  apparent 
than  at  any  former  period,  that  the  '  creation '  is  to  be  delivered 
from  the  burden  of  guilt  and  woe,  under  which  it  has  '  groaned 
and  travailed  in  pain  till  now  :' — in  short,  whether  we  look  at  the 
universal  aspect  of  things,  or  at  any  one  prominent  and  peculiar 
feature  of  the  times  in  which  we  live,  we  are  prompted  to  exclaim. 
Blessed  are  the  eyes  which  behold  these  animating  scenes,  and 
blessed  are  the  hands  which  are  permitted  to  lay  hold  of  these 
beneficent  agencies." 

*  The  eloquent  conclusion  of  this  Report  was  written  at  New  Haven,  on  Com- 
mencement day,  when,  after  having  joined  the  public  procession,  he  retired  to  his 
lodgings  and  devoted  to  that  work  the  hours  of  the  public  exercises. 

33 


258  LIFE   OF  EVART3. 

"  It  would  seem  that  if  a  man  were  permitted  to  choose  the 
epoch  of  his  short  residence  on  earth  with  a  sole  view  1o  his 
greatest  usefulness  to  the  church  of  Christ,  it  would  be  difficult  for 
him  to  prefer  any  other  time  to  the  present.  In  former  ages,  the 
faithful  were  oMiged  to  look  forward  through  a  long  succession  of 
gloomy  years,  till  the  domination  of  the  man  of  sin  and  of  the 
false  prophet  should  be  completed;  but  now  we  are  able  to  see 
under  the  borders  of  that  black  and  baleful  curtain  which  the  god 
of  this  world  has  drawn  over  its  guilty  surface,  and  is  now  strug- 
gling in  vain  to  hold  to  its  original  fastenings.  The  light  shines 
not  only  in  Goshen,  but  the  Egyptian  darkness  of  six  thousand 
years  begins  to  break  away,  and  glimpses  of  the  Sun  of  Right- 
eousness are  beheld  from  many  a  mountain  and  plain  never  visited 
by  his  beams  before  ; — sure  presage  of  that  effluence  of  light, 
which  shall  cast  an  air  of  splendor  and  beauty  over  the  habitations 
of  men,  penetrate  the  darkest  cavern  to  which  guilt  has  retreated, 
and  melt  the  massy  bars  of  the  dampest  dungeon  in  which  either 
innocence  or  guilt  has  been  immured.  Two  or  three  centuries 
hence,  and  the  battle  will  have  been  fought,  the  victory  achieved, 
and  the  opportunity  for  gaining  laurels  in  this  warfare  will  have 
passed  away.  But  now  is  the  time  for  vigorous  action,  for  holy 
enterprise,  for  exploits  which  shall  become  the  theme  of  grateful 
recollection  and  lofty  celebration  forever.  Where  is  the  man 
emulous  of  a  distinction  which  God  will  approve,  and  panting  after 
a  renown  which  shall  never  mock  the  possessor  ?  Let  him  put  on 
his  armor,  and  gird  himself  for  the  pending  controversy.  Has  he 
the  faculty  of  speaking  in  public,  and  of  pleading  the  cause  of  mil- 
lions, groaning  under  the  tyranny  of  sin,  and  exposed  to  its  penal- 
ty? Let  him  fill  his  mouth  with  arguments,  and  pour  forth  f^iom  a 
warm  heart  such  a  flood  of  eloquence,  as  shall  sweep  away  the 
defences  of  avarice  and  the  objections  of  covert  infidelity.  Let 
him  raise  his  voice  to  such  a  pitch  of  vehement  expostulation,  as 
shall  awaken  the  half  slumbering  churches,  and  incite  the  friends 
of  the  Redeemer  to  deeds  worthy  of  their  high  calling.  Does  he 
hold  the  pen  of  a  ready  writer?  He  may  address  himself  to  the 
reason  and  consciences  of  men, — call  into  action  their  dormant 
energies, — and  thus  generate  an  influence  which  shall  extend  it- 
self beyond  the  powers  of  human  calculation.  Can  he  relate  facts, 
and  deliver  a  consistent  testimony  to  the  honor  of  his  God?  Then 
let  him  recount,  in  the  social  and  domestic  circle,  the  great  events 
which  are  transpiring,  and  the  greater  and  more  glorious  ones 
which  are  foretold.  Is  he  called  to  the  high  office  of  a  Christian 
missionary  ?  He  may  immediately  erect  the  banner  of  the  cross 
upon  the  ruins  of  some  of  Satan's  demolished  fortresses.  Can  he 
teach  even  a  little  school  of  heathen  children,  in  a  retired  glen 
among  the  mountains  ?  He  may  lay  the  foundation  for  Christian 
institutions,  that  shall  shed  around  them  a  healing  power,  and  re- 
main an  expression  of  the  divine  beneficence  to  the  end  of  time. 
No  man  is  so  highly  gifted,  as  not  to  find  the  amplest  scope  for  his 
talents,  were  they  a  thousand  times  greater  than  they  are  ;  and  no 
man  is  so  feeble,  as  to  forbid  his  aspiring  after  the  honor  of  fur- 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 


259 


nishing  material  aid  to  a  cause,  which  needs  and  will  receive  the 
voluntary  services  of  countless  multitudes. 

"  We  live  not  only  in  the  most  favored  age,  but  in  a  part  of  the 
world  where  pecuhar  advantages  for  benevolent  exertion  are  ]ire- 
sented.  Far  be  the  thought  of  boasting,  on  this  sacred  occasion, 
either  of  our  temporal  or  spiritual  privileges.  What  have  we,  that 
we  have  not  received  ?  What  have  we,  that  we  have  not  forfeit- 
ed by  our  negligence  and  ingratitude  ?  Yet  we  are  not,  under  the 
pretence  of  humility,  to  remain  ignorant  of  the  amazing  power 
which  American  Christians  may  now  exert  upon  the  destinies  of 
men  ;  nor  unmindful  of  the  account  to  be  rendered  of  our  distin- 
guished opportunities.  In  a  new  and  growing  country,  already 
containing  great  resources,  and  making  rapid  progress  in  the  ac- 
quisition of  greater; — a  country  in  which  a  singular  impulse  has 
been  given  to  the  human  faculties,  by  the  great  events  in  our  po- 
litical history,  and  by  the  prospect  of  improving  his  condition 
which  is  held  out  to  every  individual ; — a  country  maintaining  a 
constant  intercourse  with  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  exhibiting  a 
commercial  enterprise  never  surpassed; — and,  above  all,  a  country 
upon  which  spiritual  influences,  in  the  form  of  revivals  of  religion, 
have  descended  with  most  benign  efficacy  for  the  last  thirty 
years; — in  such  a  country,  \vith  such  resources  and  such  pros- 
pects, what  may  not  be  accomplished  for  Christ?  How  shall  we 
limit  or  restrain  our  capabilities  of  receiving  and  diffusing  moral 
good?  Though  ChristianSjin  many  other  lands  might  plead  their 
narrow  sphere  of  action,  and  the  barriers  which  inclose  them  on. 
all  sides ;  though  they  might  dwell  upon  their  almost  universal 
poverty,  and  the  oppressive  burdens  which  they  are  compelled  to 
bear ; — no  such  pleas  will  avail  in  our  case.  And  great  will  be 
our  condemnation,  and  great  our  shame,  if,  while  we  applaud  mag- 
nificent plans  and  gigantic  efforts  in  relation  to  other  subjects,  we 
content  ourselves  with  puny  calculations  and  pigmy  enterprises 
for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  salvation  of  men. 

"  We  shall  be  the  more  inexcusable,  as  we  see  more  living  and 
demonstrative  proof  than  probably  was  ever  seen  before,  that  we 
may  certainly  calculate  upon  a  good  moral  effect  from  a  persever- 
ing application  of  good  moral  power.  Every  genuine  believer  in 
Christianity,  and  every  other  person  who  is  willing  to  see  things 
as  they  are,  may  easily  be  convinced,  that  the  circulation  of  the 
Bible,  the  establishment  of  schools  in  which  the  true  religion  is 
taught,  and  the  faithful  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  will  as  certainly 
change  the  moral  condition  and  prospects  of  a  community,  as  that 
the  introduction  of  true  systems  of  geography  and  astronomy  into 
seminaries  of  learning  will  banish  the  absurdities  of  Hindoo  phi- 
losophy. Doubtless  no  human  instrumentality  is  adequate  to 
effect  the  conversion  of  a  single  soul;  but  wherever  human  in- 
strumentaUty  is  cogently  applied  to  this  object,  for  a  series  of 
years,  it  is  so  universally  attended  by  a  higher  influence,  that  this 
united  effect  of  human  labor  and  divine  energy  seems  a  part  of 
the  settled  plan  of  God's  administration.  It  is  not  more  certain 
that  industry  tends  to  the  accumulation  of  property,  or  that  study 
and  observation  enrich  the  mind  with  knowledge,  than  that  the 


260  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

preaching  of  the  Gospel,  in  whatever  country,  is  made  the  means 
of  preparing  souls  for  heaven.  And  to  bring  the  matter  home  to 
the  bosom  of  each  individual,  a  man  may  just  as  reasonably  ex- 
pend his  property  in  large  sums,  and  in  pursuance  of  a  settled  plan 
of  action,  in  the  expectation  of  being  the  voluntary  and  happy  in- 
strument of  saving  souls  from  death  and  bringing  them  to  glory, 
as  he  may  sow  his  field  in  expectation  of  a  harvest,  or  lay  the 
foundation  of  his  house  in  hope  of  completing  it,  or  send  his  ship 
to  sea  in  hope  of  a  return,  lie  may  as  reasonably  expect  to  suc- 
ceed in  the  first  object,  as  in  the  others;  and, 'if  his  motive  be 
right,  he  cannot  fail  of  his  reward.  The  man  who  sends  a  mis- 
sionary to  Africa  or  Asia,  though  his  missionary  should  die  on  the 
passage,  will  have  it  remembered  to  his  honor,  when  this  world 
shall  have  passed  away,  that  he  stretched  out  his  hand  to  raise 
his  distant  fellow  creatures  from  degradation  and  sin;  that  he 
made  a  serious  effort,  at  a  personal  sacrifice,  to  impart  to  the  suf- 
ferers on  another  continent,  the  blessings  which  he  valued  in  his 
owii  case ;  and  that  he  set  an  example  of  benevolence  and  pubHc 
spirit,  which,  if  followed  by  all  who  entertain  similar  hopes,  would 
soon  change  the  condition  of  the  world,  and  fill  it  with  righteous- 
ness and  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  man,  who  sends 
forth  in  different  languages  a  great  number  of  Bibles  and  tracts, 
may,  after  pursuing  this  course  for  several  years,  come  to  the  firm 
persuasion,  that  he  has  aided  many  souls'  in  their  escape  from 
death,  and  probably  conveyed  the  light  of  life  to  some  minds  that 
would  otherwise  have  remained  in  utter  darkness  forever.  It 
should  be  deeply  impressed  upon  the  heart  of  every  Christian, 
especially  in  these  days,  that  sinners  are  as  truly  saved  by  human 
instrumentality  from  sinking  into  the  gulf  of  perdition,  as  the  ship- 
wrecked mariner  is  rescued  from  a  watery  grave,  by  the  advent- 
urous interposition  of  spectators  who  hasten  to  his  relief  in  a  life- 
boat. Why  is  it,  then,  that  any  man  should  think  himself  a  con- 
sistent Christian,  without  laboring  as  strenuously  to  exert  some 
agency  in  bringing  immortal  souls  to  glory,  as  the  most  enterpris- 
ing merchant,  or  the  most  laborious  farmer  presses  forward  in  the 
pursuit  of  wealth?  Both  these  classes  of  objects  are  sought 
voluntarily,  and  both  with  hopes  of  success.  But  how  amazing 
the  disparity  in  their  value  I  and  with  how  much  alacrity  the  least 
valuable  are  sought,  while  those  which  are  of  more  intrinsic  worth 
than  the  material  universe,  are  neglected  !" 

With  these  feelings  and  hopes  he  entered  upon  the  duties  of 
the  autumn.  "Let  me  remhid  you,"  he  writes  to  a  returned  mis- 
sionary, then  about  to  enter  upon  an  agency  for  the  Board,  "  let 
me  remind  you  what  a  noble  part  for  the  cause  of  God  you  may, 
by  his  grace,  have  it  in  your  power  to  assume  during  the  year  to 
come.  I  know  scarcely  any  sphere  of  exertion  more  extensive,  or 
more  desirable,  than  that  upon  which  you  are  now  entering.    With 


LIFE  OF  EVARTS.  261 

the  Divine  blessing  you  may  do  more  in  one  year  to  hasten  the 
approach  of  the  millennium,  than  many  a  faithful  minister,  even 
in  these  days,  can  do  during  a  long  life.  Think  much  of  this, 
and  pray  much  about  it  ;  and  when  you  are  composing  sermons, 
remember  that  a  single  good  paragraph,  written  with  precision, 
force  and  unction,  may  put  in  motion  a  thousand  active  minds, 
and  lead  to  tens  of  thousands  of  blessed  results." 

In  November  he  visited  New  York,  to  assist  in  arrangements  for 
enlisting  the  churches  of  that  city  in  aid  of  the  Board.  The 
union  with  the  Presbyterian  Society  having  been  consummated,  it 
became  the  duty  of  the  friends  of  the  cause  to  make  that  arrange- 
ment as  effective  as  possible.  In  this  service  he  spent  several 
weeks,  not  returning  to  Boston  till  one  of  the  last  days  of  the 
year.  It  was  a  lime  of  unremitted  labor,  and  no  little  anxiety 
and  perplexity.  The  formal  union  that  had  been  effected,  was  to 
be  made  an  efficient  one  ;  and  the  first  movements  for  that  end 
demanded  great  care,  as  well  as  activity  and  energy.  The  regu- 
lar organization  necessary  in  order  to  bring  the  subject  properly 
before  all  the  members  of  the  churches,  did  not  always  meet  with 
ready  concurrence.  When  meetings  had  been  planned  and  noti- 
fied with  great  care  and  labor,  the  result,  as  to  the  numbers  pre- 
sent and  the  amount  subscribed,  was  often  disheartening.  On 
one  occasion,  returning  from  a  meeting  in  one  of  the  most  wealthy 
churches,  he  wrote  to  his  associates  at  Boston  :  "  Those  who 
were  present,  appeared  gratified  ;  and  if  I  had  not  thought  of  the 
numerous  disheartening  things  which  I  have  witnessed  elsewhere, 
I  should  have  been  altogether  pleased  with  the  appearance  of  the 
people,  and  should  have  been  full  of  sanguine  hopes  as  to  the  re- 
sult. As  it  was,  I  could  not  help  hoping.  No  objection  was 
made — all  were  interested  and  pleased — none  were  disgusted  or 
offended — all  were  ready  to  subscribe — and  how  much  do  you 
think  they  did  subscribe  ?  I  was  told  by  one  who  summed  up 
the  different  papers,  that  eighty-nine  dollars  were  entered  ;  and  I 
observed  that  the  sums  varied  from  ^10  to  fifty  cents.  I  presume 
that  every  one  felt  fully  satisfied  that  he  had  done  his  duty.  I 
know  not  what  to  say,  and  therefore  say  nothing."  In  other  in- 
stances, however,  the  results  were  in  a  high  degree  gratifying,  and 
he  had  the  pleasure  in  each   succeeding  year  to  see   that  these 


262  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

efforts  had  not  been  in  vain,  but  were  likely  to  produce,  as  they 
have  done,  abundant  and  increasing  fruits  of  Christian  liberality. 

The  failure  to  obtain  in  New  York  generally  the  liberal  sub- 
scriptions that  he  hoped  for,  was  felt  the  more  sensibly  on  account 
of  the  state  of  the  treasury  at  the  time. 

Yet  he  performed  his  agency  thoroughly  and  energetically  to 
the  end.  "This  city  and  Boston,"  he  said,  " ought  to  be,  and 
must  be,  closely  united  in  benevolent  action." 

While  in  New  York,  he  also  drew  up  with  much  care  a  plan 
upon  which  the  Tract  Society  might  give  its  aid  to  missionary 
operations  without  danger  of  compromising  its  principles,  and 
with  the  least  possible  embarrassment  and  delay  in  bringing  out 
the  publications  in  distant  parts  of  the  world  and  in  languages 
unknown  in  this  country.  The  plan,  for  substance,  was  adopted, 
and  still  guides  these  operations.  In  a  letter  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  Society,  explaining  his  views,  he  remarks  that,  "  among  the 
numerous  charitable  institutions  of  the  present  day,  there  are  few 
indeed  which  can  co-operate  so  extenrsively  and  beneficially,  as 
Missionary  and  Tract  Societies  ;"  that  "  this  co-operation  can  be 
continued  and  extended  from  the  incipient  stages  of  missionary 
eftbrt  to  the  final  triumph  of  Christianity  in  every  part  of  the 
world  ;"  and  concludes,  in  the  catholic  spirit  that  was  habitual 
with  him,  as  follows:  "  Though  my  attention  is  especially  drawn 
to  the  wants  of  the  missions  under  the  care  of  our  Board,  yet  I 
have  learned  with  pleasure  that  our  Baptist  brethren  in  the  Cher- 
okee nation  contemplate  establishing  a  mission-press  ;  and  in  such 
an  event,  I  am  persuaded  that  a  grant  of  paper  would  be  a  par- 
ticular favor  to  that  mission  and  to  the  people  for  whose  benefit  it 
was  instituted." 


TO    E.EV.     W.    A.    HALLOCK,     SECRETAUY     OF     THE     AMERICAN     TRACT 

SOCIETY. 

Boston,  January  S,  1827. 

"  Your  letter  of  December  30th  arrived  at  the  Missionary 
Rooms  on  the  2d  instant,  the  day  before  I  had  the  pleasure  of  en- 
tering the  place  where  most  of  all  I  delight  to  labor.  The  kind 
manner  in  which  I  have  been  made  welcome  to  the  Rooms  of  the 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  263 

Tract  Society's  House,  and  the  affectionate  sympathy  with  which 
I  was  received  by  your  Committee,  are  gratefully  remembered. 
The  deep  interest  which  you  and  your  associates  take  in  the  mis- 
sionary cause,  is  one  among  many  proofs  of  the  expansive  nature 
of  Christian  benevolence.  Wherever  men  are  seriously  engaged 
in  attempts  to  benefit  the  souls  of  their  fellow  creatures  by  one 
process  of  evangelical  labor,  they  cherish  with  delight  every  other 
process  by  which  the  same  object  is  attempted  with  a  reasonable 
prospect  of  success.  Accept  my  thanks  for  the  kindness  and 
patience  with  which  you  bore  interruption  in  your  constant  labors, 
from  myself  and  my  coadjutors  being  so  near  you." 

Upon  the  labors  and  results  of  his  visit  to  New  York,  be  re- 
marks, in  a  letter  written  after  his  return  :  "  My  visit  had  been 
long  expected,  and  the  patrons  of  our  Board  residing  there  wished 
much  for  some  external  agency — that  is,  some  agency  from  abroad. 
I  labored  there  for  six  weeks,  sometimes  in  circumstances  of  great 
discouragement,  and  under  a  most  oppressive  weight  of  care,  such 
as  I  never  experienced  before.  Indeed,  this  whole  service  was 
wearing  in  the  extreme  upon  my  spirits.  How  much  rather  would 
I  have  been  employed  as  I  was  with  you  last  April  in  the  Choc- 
taw wilderness,  swimming  the  head  waters  of  Pearl  river  !  Drafts 
for  ^25,000  were  to  be  provided  for  in  London  ;  we  had  paid 
for  debts  and  the  missions  of  the  United  Foreign  Missionary  So- 
ciety, more  than  ^15,000  over  and  above  what  we  had  received 
through  the  channels  of  that  Society  ;  and  I  dreaded  open  and 
irretrievable  bankruptcy  ;  not  because  we  had  not  credit  enough 
to  borrow  the  money,  but  because  borrowing  would  only  delay 
the  evil,  not  prevent  its  pressure.  You  will  have  seen  our  Ad- 
dress in  the  February  Herald  on  this  subject Our  mission- 
aries at  all  our  old  stations  may  well  reflect  with  great  seriousness, 
that  all  injudicious  and  improvident  expenditures  at  these  stations 
greatly  retard  the  sending  of  aid  to  those  missions  abroad  which 
imperiously  demand  aid  ;  and  I  cannot  at  this  moment  form  an 
opinion  when  we  shall  be  able  to  send  a  single  missionary  to  Bom- 
bay, although  the  voice  of  the  whole  Christian  world  would  com- 
pel us  lo  send  immediately." 


264  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

Among  the  letters  written  by  Mr.  Evarts  during  the  few  weeks 
that  he  now  spent  in  Boston  and  the  vicinity,  was   a  long  one  of 
seven  sheets  to  a  missionary  among  the  Indians,  in  which  he  enters 
with  great  minuteness  into   the  discussion   of  various  perplexing 
questions  that  embarrassed  the  operations  of  the  mission.     In  con- 
clusion, after  referring  to  a  want  of  brotherly  love  and  of  a  public 
spirit  in  regard  to  the  common  interests  of  the  mission,  and   a  dis- 
position to  blame  one  another,  confessedly  prevalent  at  some  mis- 
sions, he  concludes  in  a  strain  of  earnest  expostulation,  that  may 
well  be  commended  to  the  prayerful  attention  of  many  Christians 
elsewhere,  as  well  as  to  those  for  whom   it  was  written.     "  The 
Prudential  Committee,"  he  says,  "are  appealed  to  most  particu- 
larly for  a  remedy.     Now  if  the  Committee  were  much  wiser  than 
they  are,  how  could   they  apply  a  remedy  to  such  a  case  as  this, 
when  it  is  confessed  that  the  parties  live  in  habitual  disregard  of 
some  of  the  plainest  commands   of  the   New  Testament,  such  as 
those  which  require  them  to  love  one  another,  and   to  be  of  the 
same  mind  and  of  the  same  judgment  ;  and  when,  as  is  too  appa- 
rent, each  one  seeks  his  own  good,  and  few  of  them  the  things 
which  are  Jesus  Christ's  ?     I  do  not  apply  these  questions  to  any 
but  those  who  have  made  the  most  ample  confessions.     The  New 
Testament  is  the  grand  directory  ;  and  where  that  fails  of  regula- 
ting the  lives  of  missionaries,  what  can  be  done? 

"  One  solemn  appeal  I  would  desire  to  make  to  every  individ- 
ual who  reads  or  hears  this  letter.  It  is  this :  If  every  other  in- 
dividual connected  with  missions  should  fail  in  his  duty,  I  charge 
you  to  see  that  the  souls  of  these  poor  Indians  be  not  lost  through 
your  neglect.  If  your  schools  should  be  relinquished,  and  your 
mission  houses  abandoned  to  the  owls,  and  weeds  should  take  un- 
disturbed possession  of  your  fields  ; — if  the  government  should 
become  discouraged,  and  the  enemies  of  the  red  men  should  tri- 
umph in  their  hopeless  degradation,  and  the  failure  of  Indian 
missions  should  bereave  other  people  of  spiritual  knowledge,  and 
the  tide  of  Christian  benevolence  should  experience  a  most  disas- 
trous ebb  ; — if  this  course  of  calamity  should  be  seen,  to  the  dis- 
may of  Christ's  friends  and  the  exultation  of  his  foes,  resolve  that, 
by  the  grace  of  God,  you  will  have  no  share  in  producing  it ;  that 
you  will  clear  your  hands  of  it  utterly;  that  you  will   not  spend 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 


265 


your  time  in  finding  fault  with  others,  but  in  a  cheerful  and  thor- 
ough devotion  of  your  strength  to  your  own  work,  in  your  appro- 
priate sphere  of  action. 

"  The  plan  of  missions  among  the  Indians  may  have  defects 
which  we  have  not  yet  discovered  ;  and  there  are  some  already 
discovered  which  do  not  admit  of  an  immediate  remedy  ;  but  I  am 
convinced  there  is  no  such  defect  of  plan  as  will  excuse  from 
blame  in  case  of  an  utter  failure.  A  great  responsibility  r§sts 
upon  those  who  are  in  the  field, — a  responsibility  from  which  they 
cannot  escape,  if  they  would,  and  from  which  they  ought  not  to 
wish  an  escape  possible.  This  responsibility  consists,  not  in 
making  new  theories,  so  much  as  in  taking  up  the  cross  daily,  and 
following  Christ  in  the  regeneration.  It  appears  to  me  that  the 
spirit  of  a  true  missionary  would  prompt  to  the  exclamation,  Woe 
is  me,  if  the  gospel  be  not  preached  to  these  heathen !  Woe  is 
me,  if  the  souls  of  these  Indians  perish  !  Let  me  do  anything, 
let  me  be  anything,  to  subserve  this  glorious  purpose  of  saving 
them  from  ruin  !  " 

Of  these  remarks,  he  afterwards  repeats  an  expression  of  anxiety 
lest  they  should  be  misapplied,  or  unnecessarily  injure  the  feelings 
of  any  person  in  the  service  of  the  missions.  "  I  have  endeav- 
ored," he  says,  "  to  write  just  as  I  think  would  be  useful  to  my- 
self, if  I  were  laboring  in  one  of  the  Indian  missions  at  this  time." 
He  adds  :  "  When  I  began  this  letter,  I  thought  it  possible  that 
I  might  attempt  to  visit  the  Osage  missions  in  April  or  May  next ; 
in  which  case  I  might  land  at  Memphis  in  March,  and  spend  a 
fortnight  in  the  Choctaw  and  Chickasaw  nations.  But  the  Com- 
mittee think  my  services  more  important  on  this  side  the  Alleghany 
mountains.  I  am  perfectly  ready  to  travel  any  where,  and  to  do 
any  thing  which  shall  seem  to  be  consistent  with  the  best  allot- 
ment of  my  time." 


34 


CHAPTER  VII. 


CORRESPONDING    SECRETARY.     1827—1828. 


The  mind  of  Mr.  Evarts,  though  early  displaying  the  soundness 
and  equable  vigor  of  maturity,  was  yet  in  a  state  of  constant 
growth.  His  sphere  of  activity  became  rapidly  enlarged,  but 
never  outgrew  his  power  to  discharge  its  duties.  This  was 
especially  noticeable  when,  by  the  death  of  Dr.  Worcester,  he 
was  left  the  oldest  executive  officer  of  the  Board,  and  the  only 
individual  acquainted,  by  personal  participation  in  its  concerns,  with 
its  whole  history,  and  with  all  its  agencies  and  relations,  at  home 
and  abroad.  His  mind,  it  was  observed,  acted  with  increased 
freedom  and  energy,  and  every  new  exigency  seemed  to  gird  him 
with  new  strength  and  develope  new  resources.  Very  early  in 
life  he  adopted  and  inscribed  in  the  volumes  of  his  library  the 
motto — 

"  Nil  sine  magno  vita  lohore  dedit  mortalihus." 

And  just  as  strongly  as  he  believed  that  nothing  worthy  is  ever 
brought  to  pass  in  this  world  without  hard  work,  did  he  also  be- 
lieve that  hy  hard  work,  any  man,  and  himself  in  particular,  could 
do  well  whatever  it  might  be  incumbent  upon  him  to  do  at  all.  The 
increasing  duties  of  his  office  from  time  to  time  were  therefore  all 
met  as  matters  of  business,  about  the  adequate  discharge  of  which 
there  ought  not  to  be,  and  must  not  be,  any  question.  He  shrunk 
from  no  task  because  it  was  hard,  no  undertaking  because  it  was 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS  267 

great,  no  difficulty  because  it  was  perplexing.  The  work  of  the 
Lord  must  not  be  slighted  ;  and  when,  in  special  exigencies,  busi- 
ness accumulated  unexpectedly  and  beyond  the  physical  energies 
at  command,  the  hardest  and  worst  of  it  was  yet  done  promptly 
and  thoroughly.  When,  in  addition  to  this,  we  recollect  his 
singular  memory,  and  his  ability  to  command  at  any  moment  all 
that  he  had  ever  known  of  persons  and  events,  we  may  readily 
conceive  that,  as  was  the  fact,  he  not  only  kept  up  with  the 
routine  of  his  work,  but  went  forward  in  it  with  constantly  in- 
creasing power  and  expanding  sympathies. 

We  now  approach  another  marked  period  in  his  history,  when 
his  mind  and  principles  were  subjected  to  new  tests.  It  became 
his  duty  to  spend  much  time  in  co-operation  or  in  conflict  with  men 
in  political  life,  of  the  highest  ability,  and  famihar  with  all  the 
sources  of  political  power  and  influence.  If  any  such  had  thought 
of  him  hitherto  only  as  the  Editor  of  a  Religious  Journal,  or  as 
the  Secretary  of  a  INIissionary  Society,  and  therefore  ignorant  of 
what  is  required  and  what  may  be  done  in  those  capacities — had 
regarded  him  as  a  man  of  limited  views  and  resources,  and  un- 
fitted for  their  sphere  of  action,  they  were  soon  undeceived. 

Before  the  end  of  February,  1827,  he  was  again  at  New  York, 
on  his  way  to  Washington.  He  found  the  affairs  of  the  auxiliary 
in  an  encouraging  state.  "  The  work,"  he  says,  "  appeared  to  be 
in  pretty  good  progress,  four  thousand  three  hundred  dollars 
having  been  paid  to  the  Treasurer.  A  letter  of  directions  for  Ex- 
ecutive Committees,  Secretaries,  and  Treasurers,  needs  to  be  pre- 
pared with  great  care,  containing  all  the  useful  suggestions  which 
can  be  thought  of.  This  will  relieve  our  constitution  from  several 
details,  which  impede  the  business  of  forming  societies." 

"  Philadelphia,  February  25.  Sabbath.  Called  upon  a  friend, 
and  accompanied  him  to  Arch-street  Church,  (Dr.  Janeway's) 
where  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  was  administered. 
The  Doctor  preached  from  I  Cor.  v.  7,  For  even  Christ  our 
Passover  is  sacrificed  for  us,  on  the  design  and  benefits  of  the 
atonement.  This  text,  by  the  way,  would  come  within  the  scope 
of  Dr.  Channing's  reproach  and  ridicule. 

"  Washington,  February  27.     Learned,  to  my  gratification,  that 


268  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

Mr.  Stewart*  made  his  statement  in  the  Representatives'  Cham- 
ber at  the  time  appointed,  and  that  it  was  received  with  much 
interest.  I  cannot  learn  that  there  were  many  members  of  Con- 
gress present.  It  was  not  expected  by  me  that  there  would  be. 
But  the  house  was  full,  and  the  assembly  very  respectable.  Mr. 
Southardf  waited  on  Mr.  S.  to  the  chair,  and  helped  him  sing, 
as  he  was  obliged  to  be  chorister  as  well  as  preacher,  and  to  raise 
the  tune,  as  it  is  called  here. 

"March  2.  Mr.  Stewart's  story  appeared  so  marvellous  that 
all  were  not  able  to  credit  it.     Some  said  it   was  a  priest's  story. 

General said  he  would  rather  have  heard  it   from  a  good 

honest  sailor ;  by  which,  I  suppose,  we  are  to  understand  that  the 
veracity  of  ministers  of  the  Gospel  is  not  equal  to  that  of  honest 
sailors.  However,  there  will  be  a  real  benefit  in  having  the  state- 
ment made  in  this  place.  It  will  show  that  we  are  not  afraid  to 
meet  the  rulers  of  the  people  on  their  own  ground,  and  to  state 
before  the  world  facts  tending  to  prove  the  value  of  the  Gospel  to 
the  most  debased  of  our  species. 

"  3.  Called  on  Colonel  M'Kee,  formerly  Indian  Agent  among 
the  Choctaws.  I  inquired  what  he  thought  would  ultimately  be- 
come of  the  Choctaws  and  Chickasaws.  He  says  they  will  sell 
their  land  and  remove  beyond  the  Mississippi,  or  they  will  waste 
away  and  become  extinct.  He  adds  that,  as  a  people,  they  are 
in  much  worse  circumstances  now  than  ten  years  ago.  He  attrib- 
utes this  deterioration  principally  to  the  vicinity  of  the  whites, 
and  the  greater  facilities  thus  furnished  for  the  introduction  of 
whiskey.  Several  Indians  whom  he  formerly  knew  to  be  pos- 
sessed of  considerable  property,  are  now  mere  vagabonds,  having 
spent  all  they  were  worth  for  whiskey. 

"■  These  reasons  would  weigh  powerfully  in  favor  of  a  removal 
of  the  Indians,  if  it  were  possible  to  get  them  out  of  the  reach  of 
vicious  white  men.  As  the  case  now  is,  I  think  their  prospects 
very  gloomy.  Individuals  may  be  converted,  and  in  this  let  us 
rejoice  ;  and,  perhaps,  we  ought  not  to  give  up  the  hope  that,  as 
communities,  they  may  be  Christianized  and  preserved.  The 
history  of  savage  nations,  however,  coming  into  close  contact  with 

*  Rev.  C.  S.  Stewart,  then  lately  returned  from  the  Sandwich  I&lands. 
t  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 


LIFE    OF  EVARTS. 


269 


civilized  ones,  gives  us  little  reason  to  make  very  sanguine  con- 
clusions as  to  the  preservation  of  the  former  in  their  national 
capacity." 

At  this  time  Mr.  Evarts  found  the  controversy  between  Geor- 
gia and  the  Cherokees,  which    finally  resulted   in    the   removal  of 
the  latter  from  their  native  soil   and    the  graves  of  their   fathers, 
already  occupying  the   attention    of  Congress.     On    the    2d   of 
March,  Mr.  Everett,  of  Massachusetts,  made  in  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives a  report  sustaining  the  claims  of  the   Cherokees   to 
jurisdiction  within  their  own  territory,  independent  of  the  States, 
as  secured  to  them    by  treaty.     Mr.  Drayton,  of  South  Carolina, 
presented  resolutions  of  an   opposite    tenor,  maintaining   that  the 
mdi vidua!  States  have  entire  jurisdiction  over  the  Indians  within 
their   respective  chartered   limits.     Mr.  Evarts   was  present,  and 
while  in  Washington  watched  the  progress  of  the  discussion  with 
the  liveliest  interest. 

He  was  chiefly  employed,  however,  with  Mr.  Stewart,  in  at- 
tending missionary  meetings,  assisting  in  the  organization  of  asso- 
ciations, he,  in  which  work  he  found  the  usual  obstacles  and  en- 
couragements. "  It  takes  a  great  while,"  he  says,  after  attending 
such  meetings  for  several  days  in  succession,  "  it  takes  a  great 
while  to  raise  people  up  to  the  proper  standard  of  giving.  We 
must  be  patient,  and  proceed  as  fast  as  we  can.  In  the  mean 
time,  let  us  examine  well  our  own  motives,  and  strive  to  urge 
others  to  act  with  a  supreme  reference  to  the  glory  of  God." 

"March  9.  Yesterday  I  called  with  Mr.  S.  upon  the  Presi' 
dent.  He  was  alone,  but  we  had  not  more  than  well  entered 
into  conversation  before  others  were  admitted,  and  they  were  suc- 
ceeded by  another,  till  I  found  there  was  little  hope  of  seeing  him 
alone  again,  and  therefore  came  away.  I  wished  to  speak  to  him 
freely  on  the  subject  of  our  missions  among  the  Indians,  and  be- 
gan with  some  observations  on  the  late  Georgia  controversy.  I 
thought  it  my  duty  to  say  to  him,  that  so  far  as  I  had  learned  or 
could  judge,  the  late  stand  taken  by  the  Government  was  warmly 
approved  ;  and  that  this  approbation  rested  not  so  much  upon  the 
present  controversy,  as  upon  the  principle  asserted  :  viz.  that  the 


270  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

Indians  are  to  be  protected  in  their  rights.  I  added  that  I  pre- 
sumed the  present  difficulty  might  easily  be  settled  by  the  pur- 
chase of  the  narrow  strip  of  land  now  claimed  of  the  Creeks  by 
Georgia ;  but  that  the  same  principles  would  be  applicable  to 
other  disputes,  which  would  probably  arise  soon,  and  therefore  it 
was  of  great  consequence  to  have  them  distinctly  asserted.  He 
appeared  rather  gratified. 

"  Last  evening  Mr.  S.   and   myself  attended  a  meeting  in  Mr. 

's  congregation,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  an  association. 

We  pursued  the  usual  course  with  the  usual  success.  The  people 
were  pleased  with  what  they  heard  ;  at  least  they  appeared  to  be 
pleased  ;  but  not  much  zeal  was  discovered  when  they  came  to 
act.  We  had  dined  at  Georgetown,  and  after  dinner  met  the  col- 
lectors and  endeavored  to  inspirit  them  ;  which  was  no  easy  mat- 
ter. If  there  were  in  each  congregation  some  two  or  three  per- 
sons who  would  determine  to  labor  hard  in  this  cause,  a  great  re- 
sult would  be  produced." 

"March  10.  Col. related  to  me  the  following  facts  rela- 
tive to  the  Treaty  of  the  Indian  Springs  [between  the  United 
States  and  the  Creek  Indians,]  which  was  formed  in  February, 
1825.  The  commissioners  were  expressly  directed  by  the  Gov- 
ernment not  to  treat  at  all,  unless  with  the  Creek  Nation.  They 
wrote  for  farther  instructions,  stating  that  they  could  not  get  the 
consent  of  the  people  at  large,  and  wishing  to  be  informed  if  they 
might  not  treat  with  part  of  the  chiefs.  Mr.  Calhoun  answered, 
that  they  must  not  treat  with  any  persons,  whether  chiefs  or  not, 
unless  they  were  authorized  to  speak  for  the  people.  And  yet 
the  commissioners  made  the  treaty  with  a  few  persons  whom  they 
knew  to  be  unauthorized,  and  sent  it  on  to  Washington  in  the 
greatest  haste,  that  it  might  arrive  before  the  Senate  should  ad- 
journ.    When  Mr.  Calhoun   received  it,  he  sent  for  Col.  , 

and  they  looked  over  the  signatures  together.  They  were  per- 
fectly convinced  that  the  highest  chiefs  and  the  mass  of  the  peo- 
ple had  nothing  to  do  with  it ;  and  that  the  transaction  was  dis- 
graceful in  the  extreme,  and  ought  to  be  instantly  disowned.  Mr. 
Calhoun  expressed  himself  very  strongly  on  the  subject ;  went ' 
over  to  the  President's  immediately  with  the  document,  and  ad- 
vised him  to  send  it  back  without  even  laying  it  before  the  Senate. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  271 

Mr.  Monroe,  however,  whose  term  of  office  was  about  to  expire  ia 
two  or  three  days,  thought  he  had  better  send  it  to  the  Senate, 
and  let  that  body  take  the  responsibihty  of  rejecting  it.  He  sent 
with  it  the  letter  of  the  Agent,  objecting  to  its  validity ;  but  as 
the  same  Agent  had  signed  the  treaty  as  a  witness  ;  as  no  person 
in  the  Senate  was  able  and  willing  to  explain  the  transaction ; 
and  as  the  friends  of  Georgia  and  the  enemies  of  the  Indians 
pressed  the  subject  with  extraordinary  zeal  and  urgency,  the 
treaty  was  ratified  and  sent  back  to  Mr.  Adams,  who  had  be- 
come President.  He  doubtless  disapproved  the  measure,  but  was 
not  then  acquainted  with  all  its  enormity.  He  felt  himself  to  be 
in  delicate  circumstances,  and  wished  to  avoid  collision  with 
Georgia,  if  possible.  He  therefore  assented  to  the  treaty ;  but, 
soon  after,  learning  more  of  its  true  character,  he  entered  upoQ 
those  negotiations  which  led  to  the  treaty  of  1826,  by  which  the 
former  was  annulled.  The  two  commissioners  who  effected  the 
treaty  of  1825,  were  citizens  of  Georgia,  and  acted  entirely  un- 
der the  influence  of  her  views  and  wishes.  Thus  were  the  rights 
of  these  poor  dependent  Indians  bartered  away  ;  and  there  was 
no  man  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  who  could  show  the 
rest  the  rottenness  and  vileness  of  the  whole  transaction. 

"  Mr.  Barbour  entertained  the  same  opinion  as  I  have  just  ex- 
pressed, in  regard  to  the  treaty  of  1825,  at  the  Indian  Springs. 
He  said  there  was  not  a  man  in  the  United  States,  who,  if  the 
facts  were  laid  before  him,  could  hesitate  to  say  that  that  treaty 
was  fraudulent  and  void  ;  that  in  transactions  between  man  and 
man,  the  attempt  to  enforce  such  a  contract  would  be  highly  dis- 
honorable ;  and  that  those  men  in  Georgia  who  would  insist  upon 
vested  rights  under  that  treaty,  would  not  hesitate  to  take  the 
Cherokee  lands  without  a  treaty. 

"  Mr,  Barbour  then  went  into  a  long  exposition  of  his  views  in 
regard  to  the  Indians,  which  are  substantially  the  same  with  those 
contained  in  his  report  on  the  subject,  of  February  1826.  One 
great  argument  in  favor  of  a  removal  of  the  Indians  is,  that  they 
cannot  remain  where  they  are,  on  account  of  the  determination  of 
the  States  of  Georgia,  Alabama,  and  Mississippi  that  they  shall 
not.  This  cupidity  of  the  States,  he  thinks,  will  not  be  perma- 
nently resisted  by  the  General  Government.     If,  in  the  election  of 


272  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

President,  the  vote  of  Georgia  should  be  necessary  to  a  choice, 
Mr.  Barbour  supposes  that  men  might  possibly  be  found  who 
would  engage  to  do  whatever  Georgia  should  require.  '  It  was  not 
to  be  disguised,'  he  said,  '  that  the  solicitude  now  was,  who  shall 
rule  over  us,  rather  than  what  the  rulers  shall  do  for  the  good  of 
the  people.'  There  is  no  question  that  he  is  right  in  his  opinion  ; 
and  that  this  evil  is  of  so  prominent  and  notorious  a  character,  as 
to  form  the  most  common  topic  of  lamentation,  complaint,  and 
crimination,  among  all  classes  of  people  at  Washington.  These 
are  humiliating  facts  ;  and  should  teach  us  that  there  is  no  safe 
reliance,  except  upon  the  kind  overruling  providence  of  God. 

"  Monday,  March  12.  Alexandria.  Called  on  Mr.  Keith,  the 
Episcopal  minister,  yesterday,  and  again  to-day.  He  is  a  man  of 
the  most  catholic  spirit,  and  warmly  evangelical.  He  had  given 
notice  the  day  before  of  a  meeting  in  his  church  this  evening, 
which  was  held  accordingly.  A  respectable  number  were  pre- 
sent. Mr.  Stewart  spoke,  and  I  followed.  This  is  the  first  time 
(no,  it  is  the  third  time)  that  I  have  spoken  in  an  Episcopal 
church.  The  other  two  instances  were  at  Georgetown  and  Fred- 
ericksburgh,  three  years  ago,  when  I  was  with  David  Brown. 

"March  18.  Norfolk.  You  judged  correctly  that  I  should 
feel  a  deep  interest  in  Mr.  Goodell's  letter,*  of  which  you  sent  me 
a  copy.  I  read  it  with  great  eagerness  as  soon  as  I  received  it, 
on  board  the  steamboat,  stopping  repeatedly  to  indulge  my  feel- 
ings of  admiration,  and  I  hope  of  gratitude,  for  the  remarkable 
progress  of  divine  truth  in  that  darkest  region  that  has  ever  been 
professedly  Christian.  I  was  happy  to  receive  so  interesting  and 
animating  an  account  of  your  Monthly  Concert.  Very  little  at- 
tention is  paid  to  that  season,  so  far  as  [  can  learn,  any  where  in 
the  Middle  States.  It  is  very  rare  to  find  a  man,. even  among  the 
intelligent  part  of  the  community,  who  knows  anything  about 
missions  ;  and  in  most  places  it  would  seem  to  be  the  work  of 
years  to  excite  even  a  small  degree  of  attention  to  the  subject. 

"  Called  upon  Mr.  Southard  immediately  after  breakfast,  and 
conversed  with  him  alone  on  two  important  points,  namely,  the 
Percival  affair,  and  the  appointment  of  a  consul  to  reside  at  the 
Sandwich  Islands. 

*  From  Beiri^t,  relating  to  affairs  at  Constantinople. — 3Iiss.  Herald,  vol.  xxiii,  p.  112. 


LIFE    OF  EVARTS.  275 

"  19.  I  believe  1  mentioned  in  one  of  my  late  letters,  that 
such  is  the  impression  made  by  the  late  fire  here,  that  it  would  not 
be  wise  to  attempt  to  raise  funds  for  our  Board  at  present.  In- 
deed, to  be  yielding  and  silent  is  the  only  course  ;  for  we  should 
not  be  supported  by  any  considerable  number  of  friends,  should 
we  make  the  attempt  ;  while  we  should  expose  the  cause  to  the 
charge  of  rashness  and  presumption.  It  is  not  the  fact,  however, 
that  the  fire  has  made  any  real  difference  in  the  ability  of  the  mass 
of  the  people  to  give,  or  that  it  has  occasioned  any  general  dis- 
tress, or  is  a  subject  of  great  lamentation.  But  the  people  have 
faint  and  feeble  views  in  regard  to  the  obligation  and  extent  of 
claims  upon  them  for  the  cause  of  Christ ;  and  while  this  is  the 
case,  nothing  can  be  done  which  seems  to  encroach  upon  the  in- 
terests of  the  suffering  poor  at  their  doors." 

From  Norfolk  he  proceeded  to  Petersburgh  and  Richmond,  in 
both  which  cities  the  agency  was  prosecuted  with  the  usual  suc- 
cess. 

"  Richmond,  27th.  It  is  extremely  difficult  for  an  agent  or  an 
officer  of  the  Board,  to  know  what  to  say,  when  wishing  to  bring 
home  to  the  conscience  the  duty  of  forming  an  elevated  standard 
of  Christian  charity.  On  the  one  hand,  you  are  in  danger  of 
making  people  contented  with  themselves,  when  they  do  not  give 
one  fiftieth  part  as  much  as  they  ought  to  give  ;  and  on  the  other, 
you  may  easily  offend  them  by  pressing  an  argument,  or  by 
stating  what  others  are  actually  doing,  1  every  day  see  the  need 
of  a  tract  of  examples,  to  be  circulated  very  freely  in  those  parts 
of  the  country  which  are  to  be  visited  by  agents. 

"  28.  Attended  a  meeting  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  where 
between  one  hundred  and  fifty  and  two  hundred  persons  assem- 
bled. They  felt  much  interested ;  and  at  the  close,  appointed 
the  officers  of  the  former  missionary  society,  a  committee  to  re- 
port concerning  a  new  organization  ;  which,  I  have  no  doubt,  will 
be  readily  adopted.  1  do  not  flatter  myself  with  the  expectation 
of  any  great  results.  I  shall  not  be  surprised  if  Mr.  Bissell  shall 
raise  more  in  the  single  village  of  Rochester,  for  the  ten  years  to 
come,  than  will  be  raised  in  the  great  State  of  Virginia,  for  mis- 
sions to  the  heathen." 
35 


274  LIFE   OF  EVART3. 

His  visit  to  Virginia  was  found  afterwards  to  have  produced  a 
deeper  and  more  lasting  impression  in  favor  of  missions  than  these 
extracts  indicate.  . 


TO    REV.    C.    KINGSBURY. 

Washington  city,  April  5, 1S27. 

"  Yesterday  I  called  on  Mr.  Varnum,  at  his  house  in  this  city, 
and  he  showed  me  your  letter  of  March  4lh,  on  the  subject  of  the 
alleged  influence  of  the  missionaries  in  reference  to  the  removal 
of  the  Indians.  I  think  your  observations  very  proper  and  just ; 
and  that  you  need  never  be  afraid  of  communicating  your  delib- 
erate thoughts  on  this  subject  to  any  member  of  Congress,  or 
any  member  of  the  government. 

"  I  have  conversed  with  the  Secretary  of  War  and  with  Col. 
McKenney  repeatedly  of  late,  on  the  subject  of  our  policy  toward 
the  Indians.  Their  views  are  substantially  the  same  as  appear 
in  the  report  of  that  Department  of  February  3,  1826,  which  I 
read  with  you  at  Mayhew.  I  told  the  Secretary  that  I  approved 
the  benevolent  spirit  of  that  report ;  and  that  I  thought  the 
character  of  this  country  was  never  so  deeply  concerned  in  this 
matter  as  at  the  present  moment.  Neither  he  nor  Col.  McKen- 
ney would  urge  the  removal  of  the  Indians,  unless  upon  the  fol- 
lowing conditions  : 

"  1.  That  they  may  be  satisfied  themselves  with  the  country 
to  which  they  are  to  be  removed. 

"  2.  That  this  country  be  secured  to  them,  in  such  a  manner 
that  there  shall  be  no  danger  of  molestation  hereafter. 

"  3.     That  the  intrusion  of  the  whites  shall  be  prevented. 

"  4.  That  a  good  government,  and  the  means  of  instruction, 
and  of  permanent  improvement,  shall  be  secured. 

"  5.  That,  in  order  to  derive  benefit  from  experience,  the 
work  of  removal  must  be  slow. 

*'  On  these  principles,  I  certainly  have  not  a  single  feeling  ad- 
verse to  the  experiment  being  made.  The  subject  is  attended 
with  many  difficulties,  let  us  take  what  course  we  may. 

"  As  to  the  duty  of  missionaries,  however,  the  case  is  very  clear. 
They  should  not  interfere  at  all  with  the  political   matters  of  the 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS  275 

Indians  :  and  when  asked  what  the  government  will  do,  the  answer 
should  always  be — The  President  says  the  Indians  shall  not  go 
without  their  own  consent ;  and  they  must  judge  for  themselves 
whether  it  is  best  for  them  to  go  or  stay. 

"  We  have  some  pleasing  intelligence  in  regard  to  the  missions 
which  have  lately  come  under  our  care  near  Buffalo,  and  at  Mack- 
inaw ;  and  there  are  some  causes  of  anxiety. 

"  May  the  Lord  bless  his  own  truth,  and  fill  the  world  with  his 
glory." 

In  another  letter  of  the  same  date  and  upon  the  same  subject, 
he  says:  "  Nothing  effectual  will  ever  be  done,  unless  the  people 
take  the  matter  in  hand  and  compel  Congress  to  give  the  subject 
an  impartial  consideration.  If  this  is  not  practicable,  the  poor 
Indians  will  be  trodden  under  foot,  and  hunted  down  like  wild 
beasts,  although  the  Executive  should  labor  to  save  them  with  the 
greatest  sincerity.  In  Congress  all  legislative  measures  must  orig- 
inate, and  there  all  appropriations  must  be  made  ;  and  I  am  sorry 
to  say  that  Congress  is  strangely  negligent  of  the  public  business." 

Leaving  Washington,  he  proceeded  to  Baltimore  and  Philadel- 
phia, prosecuting  his  labors  in  both  cities  with  encouraging  suc- 
cess. 

TO    REV.    R.    ANDERSON. 

Trenton,  N.  J.,  April  16, 1S27. 

"Dr.  Green  objected,  as  he  said  he  should  in  his  letter,  to 
forming  associations  in  aid  of  our  Board  in  Philadelphia.  He  is 
willing,  however,  that  a  general  collection  should  be  made  for  our 
treasury,  by  calling  upon  those  who  are  able  to  give  liberally, 
and  by  taking  up  contributions  in  churches  ;  and  in  this  matter  he 
is  willing  to  give  his  name,  his  subscription,  and  his  warm  recom- 
mendation of  the  Board.  But  he  objects  to  a  permanent  organ- 
ization, because  he  thinks  the  Presbyterian  church,  as  a  church, 
and  acting  by  its  highest  judicatory,  should  send  forth  missionaries. 
I  endeavored  to  convince  him  that  this  was  not  done  by  any 
church  in  Christendom  ; — neither  the  Scottish  Missionary  Society, 
nor  the  London,  nor  any  other,  acting  under  the  highest  authori- 
ties of  the  church.     I  observed,  further,  that  when  the  individual 


276  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

members  of  a  church  united  in  sending  the  gospel  to  the  heathen, 
in  a  manner  approved  by  the  highest   authority  of  that   church,  it 
could  not  be  said  that  the  church  was  guilty  of  negligence  in  re- 
gard to  the  missionary  cause.     If  individuals  acted  with  liberality 
and  spirit,  in    a   manner  and    for  a    purpose   recommended   by   a 
church,  it  would  be  substantially  the  same  thing  as   if  the  church 
acted  in  her  representative  or  concentrated  character.     It  did   not 
appear,  however,  that  my  arguments  carried  much  conviction  with 
them  ;  for  the  Doctor   declared  his  intention,  and  the  intention  of 
his  friends,  to  engage   the    General  Assembly,  if  possible,  to  take 
up  the  subject  of  missions  to  the  heathen.      He  did  not  know  that 
he  should  be  a  member — and  he  did  not  know  how   many  would 
support  him  in  such  a  measure,  if  he  were ;  but  he  felt   bound  in 
conscience  to  make  the  attempt.     I  asked    him    how  it  would  be 
possible,  in  case  a  majority  of  the  General  Assembly  should  think 
with  him,  to  place  things  as  they  were  before  the  late  union  ?    He 
said  there  was  no  need  of  it.     We   had  taken   the   missions,  and 
paid  the  debts  of  the  United  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  and  we 
might  take  all  the  property  of  that  Society.     I  told  him  that  the 
property  of  the   Society  was   nothing  but  certain  buildings,  &,c., 
which  were  of  no  value,  except  upon  the  principle  of  continuing 
the  missions  where   they   were  ;    and  that  the  missions  received 
from  that  Society  were  an  annual  charge  of  thousands  of  dollars 
upon  our  treasury,  beside  the  large  debt  which  we  paid.     I  could 
hardly  contain  my  surprise  at  the  easy  method  of  settling  the  mat- 
ter which  the  Doctor  had  so  readily  discovered. 

"  There  is  no  reason  to  apprehend  that  the  General  Assembly 
will  adopt  any  measure  inconsistent  with  the  decision  of  last 
spring  ;  and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  there  should  be  any  hesita- 
tion among  the  ministers  of  Philadelphia." 

"  Princeton,  April  18.  At  4  P.  M.,  attended  a  meeting  of  the 
students  in  the  Theological  Seminary,  and  addressed  them  nearly 
an  hour,  on  the  duty  of  a  student  of  theology  in  regard  to  mis- 
sions. I  divided  my  discourse  as  follows  :  1.  He  is  to  under- 
stand the  subject  thoroughly.  2.  He  is  to  ascertain  what  the 
Lord  would  have  him  do.  Among  the  reasons  why  he  should  not 
go  on  a  foreign  mission  are — want  of  health,  want  of  moral  disci- 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  277 

pline,  and  certain  engagements  (like  the  care  of  agent  parents)  in 
this  country.  The  following  are  not,  of  themselves,  sufficient 
reasons  for  declining  missionary  service  :  1.  The  demands  of  our 
own  country.  These  demands  are  not  so  urgent  as  the  claims  of 
the  heathen  ;  and  they  are  more  likely  to  be  supplied.  2.  The 
want  of  pecuniary  means  to  go  forth  immediately.  Let  the  ap- 
plicant, if  no  means  are  aftbrded,  continue  to  seek  for  admission 
to  the  heathen,  and  this  will  rouse  the  churches  to  supply  the 
means.  3.  The  want  of  a  large  field  of  certain  operations  among 
the  heathen.  These  three  reasons  are  not  sufficient  to  excuse  a 
man  from  missionary  service. 

"  But,  whether  a  candidate  for  the  ministry  goes  abroad  or 
stays  at  home,  he  should  have  a  missionary  character  ;  and,  if 
settled  as  a  pastor,  he  should — 

"  1.     Cultivate  a  missionary  spirit  among  his  people. 
"  2.     Set  a  truly  missionary  example. 

"  3.  Draw  forth  the  intellectual  and  moral  resources  of  his 
people,  and  of  all  within  his  reach,  for  this  object. 

"  I  added  these  two  encouragements:  1.  That  success  is  in 
proportion  to  effort.  2.  The  peculiar  character  of  the  present  age. 
"  At  the  close  of  the  meeting,  Dr.  Alexander  spoke  to  me  on 
the  subject  of  an  asylum  for  superannuated  and  disabled  mission- 
aries, and  the  widows  and  children  of  missionaries.  This  will  be 
a  suitable  subject  for  the  business  part  of  the  next  Report.  The 
time  has  arrived  when  the  minds  of  thinking  people  are  a  good 
deal  directed  to  it  ;  and  the  Board  must  take  it  up. 

"  19.  Prepared  a  constitution,  &;c.,  for  the  meeting  to-day. 
A  meeting  was  held,  and  a  central  society  formed  under  very 
happy  auspices.  Mr.  WoodhuU,  the  minister  of  the  place,  pre- 
sided. Dr.  Alexander  moved  the  adoption  of  the  constitution  in 
a  very  good  speech.  He  was  followed  by  Mr.  Stockton,  a  lawyer 
of  Trenton,  who  spoke  with  great  feeling.  There  was  a  great 
deal  of  animation,  and  this  will  be  a  very  important  auxiliary. 
An  association  was  formed  in  the  Seminary,  which  will  probably 
raise  ^100.  The  ladies  of  this  village  have  already  collected 
^90.  Mr.  K.  is  delighted  with  the  success  here;  and  I  think 
we  may  consider  it  as  a  maxim,  that  the  more  intelligent  a  com- 
munity is,  the  more  certain  we  are  of  success." 


278  LIFE  OF  EVARTS. 

At  the  end  of  April  he  arrived  at  home,  and  spent  a  few  weeks 
in  the  bosom  of  his  family  and  in  the  society  and  the  labors  that 
he  most  delighted  in.  In  June,  however,  we  find  him  on  another 
laborious  excursion  to  the  east,  attending  the  anniversaries  of 
auxiliaries  in  New  Hampshire  and  Maine. 

Besides  these  agencies  abroad,  in  the  general  service  of  the 
cause,  he  was  deeply  interested  and  had  much  labor  on  his 
hands  at  this  time,  in  preparing  to  send  out  a  large  reinforcement 
to  the  Sandwich  Islands  mission,  which  left  the  country  early  in 
November.  There  were,  too,  circumstances  connected  with  that 
mission,  that  tried  his  feelings  exceedingly,  and  occasioned  much 
anxious  thought  and  labor  for  many  months.  While  the  mission 
was  excedingly  prosperous  in  its  efforts  to  elevate  and  purify  the 
native  character,  and  had  secured  the  confidence  of  chiefs  and 
people,  an  outbreak  of  lust  and  passion  among  unprincipled 
foreigners  kept  them,  in  1826,  in  the  most  trying  circumstances 
for  the  period  of  ten  months.  The  persecution  originated  entirely 
from  hostility  to  the  purifying  influences  of  the  Gospel ;  and  was 
so  abominable  in  its  character,  so  trying  to  the  missionaries,  such  an 
obtrusion  of  the  worst  vices  of  civilized  life  upon  a  people  just 
waking  to  a  love  of  truth  and  purity,  and  in  view  of  the  official 
position  of  some  of  the  actors,  so  dishonorable  to  our  country's 
name,  as  to  excite,  wherever  the  facts  were  even  partially 
known,  feelings  of  the  liveliest  sympathy  for  the  heroic  mission- 
aries and  the  outraged  natives,  and  unutterable  indignation  at  the 
conduct  of  men  who  were  bound  by  their  official  station,  as  well 
as  by  all  the  ties  of  humanity,  of  a  common  country,  and  of  reli- 
gion, to  place  themselves  in  the  attitude  of  benefactors  and  friends. 
On  no  subject,  Mr.  Evarts  remarked,  did  he  find  it  so  difficult  to 
control  his  feelings.  "But  let  us  cultivate,"  he  added,  "the 
meekness  of  Christianity  ;  it  may  be  well  to  publish  a  full  dis- 
closure ;  but  not  till  after  we  have  deliberated  coolly." 

Most  prominent  among  the  offenders,  was  Lieut.  John  Percival, 
of  the  United  States  Navy,  who  visited  the  Islands  in  command  of 
the  armed  schooner  Dolphin,  in  January,  1826.  As  this  was  the 
first  public  vessel  from  their  native  land,  the  missionaries  had  a  right 
to  expect  civil  treatment,  at  least,  if  not  kind  offices,  from  all  on 
board.     But  in  this  reasonable  expectation  they  were  lamentably 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 


279 


disappointed.  Lieut.  Percival  at  once  assumed  an  attitude  exceed- 
ingly hostile  to  the  objects  of  the  mission,  and  the  whole  influence 
of  his  visit  was  destructive  of  the  interests  of  religion  and  morality. 
A  law  had  been  enacted  by  the  chiefs,  forbidding  females  to  go 
on  board  foreign  vessels,  as  had  been  customary,  for  the  purposes 
of  prostitution.  Percival  demanded  the  repeal  of  this  law ;  and 
by  the  most  outrageous  and  infamous  means,  at  length  succeeded 
in  breaking  up  its  salutary  restraints. 

After  Mr.  Evarts  and  his  associates  had  "  deliberated  coolly" 
upon  these  transactions,  it  was  resolved  to  make  a  formal  com- 
plaint against  Peroival,  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  ;  and  in  con- 
sequence of  their  representations,  a  court  of  inquiry  was  ordered. 
This  case  occasioned  him  much  labor  and  anxiety.  The  result 
will  be  seen  on  a  subsequent  page. 

Nor  was  this  all.  The  efforts  of  Mr.  Evarts  and  his  associates 
had  conspired,  with  other  influences,  to  awaken  extensively  a  new 
feeling  in  regard  to  the  work  of  missions.  An  address  to  the 
patrons  of  the  Board,  prepared  by  him  and  published  in  February, 
had  produced  an  immediate  and  very  perceptible  effect  in  the  in- 
crease of  funds  ;  the  union  of  the  Presbyterian  Society  with  the 
Board  had  brought  the  operations  of  the  latter  more  fully  before 
the  Christian  public  in  the  middle,  southern,  and  western  States  ; 
an  important  and  active  auxiliary  had  been  formed  in  the  city  of 
New  York,  and  much  had  been  done  in  that  state.  New  Jersey, 
and  elsewhere,  in  the  way  of  forming  associations  and  exciting  an 
interest.  Early  in  the  season,  the  Prudential  Committee  began 
to  receive  pressing  applications  from  liberal  individuals  at  a  dis- 
tance, proposing  that  a  plan  should  be  adopted  by  which  the  re- 
sources of  the  Board  might  be  suddenly  and  greatly  increased, 
with  a  view  to  enlarged  operations.  In  this  state  of  things,  his 
feelings  were  expressed  in  the  following  letter : 


TO    JOSIAH    BISSELL,  JR.    ROCHESTER,    N.  Y 

Boston,  July  15th,  1S27. 

"  Your  favor  of  the  9th,  came   to  hand   yesterday,   and  bore 
renewed  evidence  of  the  interest  which  you  feel  in  the  operations 


280  ^IFE  OF  EVARTS. 

of  our  Board,  and  of  the  generous  devotedness  which  you  manifest 
to  the  cause  of  our  blessed  Redeemer.  Your  plan  of  raising 
money  will  be  laid  before  our  Committee  at  the  first  meeting. 
Although  I  think  you  calculate  too  sanguinely,  I  have  great  con- 
fidence in  a  measure  which  I  have  often  contemplated,  and  which, 
I  suppose,  is  substantially  the  same  as  yours.  It  is  this: — to  send 
out  an  agent  to  call  upon  rich  men  who  profess  to  be  followers  of 
Christ,  and  spend  time  with  one  after  another  in  succession,  at 
their  own  houses,  till  they  would  cheerfully  take  upon  them  an 
engagement  to  pay  a  handsome  sum  annually,  as  long  as  God 
shall  give  them  the  ability.  This  measure  was, first  suggested  by 
the  lamented  Mr.  Fisk,  who  intended,  if  his  life  had  been  spared, 
to  execute  such  an  agency  in  our  land,  and  to  say  plainly  to  any 
individual  to  whom  God  has  given  property,  and  who  acknowl- 
edged his  responsibility,  that  he  ought  to  give  enough,  regularly, 
to  support  a  married  missionary  ;  or,  in  other  words,  that  such 
men  should  give,  according  to  their  ability,  one  ^300,  another 
^500,  another  ^700,  another  ^'1,000,  annually.  He  would  add, 
— '  My  dear  sir,  you  will  feel  better  and  happier  to  give  enough 
to  send  a  married  or  an  unmarried  missionary,  and  to  sustain  him 
permanently,  than  you  will  if  you  take  but  a  feeble  part  in  this 
greatest,  best  of  labors.  You  are  able  to  support  a  missionary. 
You  will  never  feel  the  loss  of  the  money  ;  and  the  effects  of  such 
an  effort  will  be  great,  and  will  have  a  happy  bearing  on  the 
destiny  of  immortal  beings.'  In  some  such  manner,  that  beloved 
missionary  thought  he  could  prevail  with  rich  disciples  to  honor 
the  Lord  with  their  substance.  He  has  been  called  away  to 
higher  services  ;  but  others  remain,  and  must  perform  their  respec- 
tive duties. 

"  You  have  my  hearty  concurrence  in  what  you  say  about  a 
high  standard,  and  the  boldness  which  becomes  agents  of  our 
public  charities.  We  must  take  care,  however,  not  to  urge  strong 
meat  upon  those  who  are  unable  to  bear  it.  Let  us  do  what  we 
can  to  raise  the  Christian  character,  in  every  respect,  and  especially 
in  works  of  beneficence." 

At  the  annual  meeting  in  September,  which  was  held  in  the  city 
of  New  York,  this  feeling  developed  itself  in  the  most  impressive 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  281 

manner,  so  that  all  hearts  were  remarkably  moved  in  view  of  the 
greatness  and  urgency  of  the  work.  The  sessions  of  the  Board 
instead  of  closing,  as  usual,  on  Friday  or  Saturday,  were  continued 
to  Monday  evening.  In  the  conclusion  of  the  Annual  Report, 
Mr.  Evarts  had  taken  such  views  of  the  purposes  and  the  gran- 
deur of  the  missionary  movement,  and  of  its  relations  to  all  the 
noblest  interests  of  humanity,  and  had  poured  forth  his  soul  in 
such  earnestness  of  eloquent  appeal,  as  to  very  much  deepen  the 
impression  that  already  prevailed. 

"  Of  all  the  moral  phenomena  m  the  present  eventful  period  of 
the  world,  none  is  more  evident,  than  that  the  cause  of  religion 
at  home  and  abroad  is  one  ;  that  the  same  principles  which  prompt 
to  the  Christian  education  of  our  families  and  to  the  instruction  and 
warning  of  our  relatives  and  friends,  naturally  impel  to  evangelical 
efforts  for  the  benefit  of  every  portion  of  the  human  race ;  that  this 
tendency  of  benevolent  principles  does  not  exist  in  theory  merely, 
but  is  seen  in  daily  practice ;  and  that  henceforth  the  attempt  to 
separate  living  piety  from  expansive  beneficence,  will  be  as  vain 
as  it  is  unscriptural.  On  this  subject,  the  church  is  certainly  mak- 
ing advances  of  the  most  auspicious  character.  It  is  difficult  to 
see  how  she  can  go  backward,  without  such  a  dereliction  of  prin- 
ciple as  shall  seriously  alarm  her,  and  arouse  her  from  any  partial 
slumber  into  which  she  may  have  begun  to  fall.  May  we  not 
rest  assured,  then,  that  the  number  of  public  spirited,  self-denying 
Christians  will  be  increasing  in  all  future  time  ?  May  we  not  take 
it  for  granted,  that  all  existing  plans  for  the  melioration  of  mankind 
will  be  rendered  more  perfect  and  more  enlarged  in  their  opera- 
tion ;  and  that  more  of  sanctified  talent,  and  more  of  that  wisdom 
which  is  from  above,  will  be  called  into  the  administration  of  these 
high  concerns  ?  And,  with  the  accompanying  favor  of  heaven, 
may  we  not  expect  to  see  the  waters  of  salvation  flowing  in  broader 
and  deeper  channels,  till  they  shall  have  reached  the  remotest  hab- 
itations of  men  ? 

"  These  pleasing  anticipations  seem  warranted  in  part  by  the 
course  v/hich  serious  and  contemplative  minds  are  taking  in  the 
most  enlightened  countries  of  continental  Europe.  Evidence  from 
various  quarters,  and  of  many  kinds,  leaves  no  room  for  doubting 
that  persons  of  a  philosophical  cast  are,  to  a  considerable  extent, 
looking  to  religion,  as  the  last  and  only  hope  of  man.  Other  things 
have  promised  ranch,  but  have  regularly  failed  in  the  performance, 
till  this  failure  is  generally  seen  and  acknowledged.  The  inefficacy 
of  human  systems  is  so  manifest,  that  the  claims  of  Christianity 
are  examined  anew,  and  with  increasing  interest.  A  conviction 
hence  arises,  and  is  spreading,  that  for  the  improvement  of  man  in 
all  his  domestic  and  social  relations ;  for  the  acquisition  and  pres- 
ervation of  liberty ;  for  the  wise  and  equitable  administration  of 
civil  government,  all  other  means  are  immeasurably  inferior  to  the 
36 


289  I'lFI'''    ^^l'    I'VAKTS. 


simple  oliioiu-y  ol"  tin-  (."nsiu'I.  \\'1\imi  the  iiiiiul  has  procociUHl 
tluis  far,  il  dix^s  nol  stop  till  ll\i>  cause  o\'  this  astuiiishiiii;-  powrr  is 
iiivostii^atrd  ;  ami  when  it  is  fDnml,  that  tlu^  lUMo  consults  tiic  tcm- 
]H)ral  liappiiirss  ot'  man  by  siMtiiiji;  holoii^  him  a  law  Avhirh  irni-lics 
llu'  heart,  ami  with  tho  most  awl'iil  saiirtioiis  restrains  all  those  inor- 
dinate ilesnes,  hy  whieh  the  world  has  been  kept  in  so  nineli  aj;i- 
itatiou  and  snllernii!: ;  tluMi  tlu>  eonelnsioii  is  irresistible,  thiit  tlie  Bi- 
ble had  its  oriiiin  with  Ibm  who  \s  wd/kJci/'uI in  coitnci/ (iik/ r.trr//c/it 
in  tro/Iiin::;,  who/.7/f;<'  ir/nif  mis  in  man,  and  who  provides,  with  all  a 
latluM's  tendiMiiess,  lor  tlu>  reei>very  ot'his  errini>'  ehildren,  by  semling 
forth  the  renovatini;:  and  healinu,'  mlhieiu'es  ol"  his  Spirit,  with  the 
laithl'nl  animneiation  of  his  ^\■ord.  h\  a  process  like  this,  the  mintls 
ol'many  retleelini;'  and  intellii;ent  n\en  ari>  at  this  moment  advaneinj;. 
They  hail  with  ileli<;ht  the  nniltiform  i)perations  ot'  Christian  be- 
nevolence ;  and  si'em  t(»  look  with  anxious  expectation  for  the 
blesseil  results,  Tlu're  is  most,  manifestly  u  constant  accession  of 
favor  to  the  luissionuy  cause  ;  and  it  is  I'xertini:;  an  inlhuMice,  in 
various  ways,  uiiu-h  i;reater  and  nuMe  salutary,  than  iuattentivo 
observtMs  are  in  tlie  habit  of  snspectiiii;'. 

•'  While  this  Mtate  oi'  \\n\vj;s  shouhl  excite  grateful  emotions,  and 
V,C  leail  \o  humble  ci>nlidence  in  (loil.by  whom  the  hearts  t)f  princes, 
niul  pontill's,  and  philosophers,  are  turiunl  whithersoever  he  M'ill, 
it  is  not  to  be  di.sri>t!,arded,  that  there  is  also  a  numifest  increase 
of  hostility  to  missions  and  to  the  great  cause  of  evangelical 
virtue.  I\len  seem  extiMisividy  to  be  taking  sides  with  nioro 
determiniHl  sjiirit  than  luMi-tofore.  There  is,  no  ilonbt,  a  largo 
inert  mass,  which  remains  as  yet  unuun  ed.  Jhit  the  {>xertions  of 
Christians  for  so  many  and  so  noble  objects,  all  conspiring  to- 
gether for  the  grandest  consummation  which  the  earth  is  ever  to 
witness,  cannot  escape  the  i>bsiMvation  ol"  those  who  pay  any  nt- 
tentiou  to  llie  movements  iil"  th(>  moral  world.  It  must  be  ex- 
j)ected,  therel'ore,  that  all  the  ailherents  of  oKl  and  rottiMi  systems 
of  religious  error,  lenced  in  as  they  nre  by  civil  and  ecclesiastical 
ilespi>tism  ;  all  who  openly  cast  i>li  the  restraints  which  the  (los- 
]iel  impost's  upon  the  guilty  passions;  all  who  hav(^  made  up  their 
minds  that  thi'y  will  never  iUmiv  themselves,  nor  do  good  to  others, 
from  any  fear  oi'  (ioil  or  regard  to  man  ;  ami  all  who  would  dread 
that  religi«)n  should  get  such  a  juiwer  and  currenl-y  in  the  world, 
ns  to  intluence  public  o[>inion  on  the  greatest  subjects  of  human 
interest  : — these  classes  of  men,  and  all  who  tall  umler  their  sway, 
nre  rallying,  and  will  gradiudly  assume  the  form  of  most  deciiled 
resistance.  At  least,  sui-li  ap[>ear  to  be  the  indications  ol' the  pres- 
ent day." 

*•  That  the  chuich  may  t'ullil  hcv  high  destinies,  us  the  rhaniu-l 
through  which  spiritual  blessings  are  ilispensed  to  a  guilty  worlil, 
il  seems  necessary  that  ]>rolessors  of  religion  generally,  and  lead- 
ing members  of  our  churches  especially,  should  make  great  ad- 
vances [leyond  their  present  attninnuMits.  A  lew  of  the  particu- 
lars in  which  such  an  advance  should  be  appaieni,  are  all  that 
the  present  occasii>n  permits  to  be  mentioned. 

"1.     C/iris(ians  shouhl  mure  p rape 1 1 y  cstiinuh-  the  object  of  mission- 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  283 

ary  exertion.  Thousands  who  approve  of  this  object,  and  count 
themselves  among  its  friends,  have  very  inadequate  notions  of  iis 
magnitude  or  its  merits.  They  seem  not  to  be  aware  that  the  ob- 
ject of  missionary  exertions  is  no  less  than  the  moral  renovation 
of  a  world ;  that  the  base  passions  which  have  so  long  and  so 
deplorably  tyrannized  over  the  noble  faculties  of  man,  are  to  be 
subdued  ;  that  all  that  is  oppressive  in  governments,  all  that  is  re- 
fractory and  seditious  among  the  people,  all  that  is  fierce,  overbear- 
ing and  unjust  in  the  conduct  of  nations  toward  each  other,  is  to 
give  place  to  the  law  of  love,  carried  equally  into  the  greatest  and 
the  least  transactions.  Wars  are  to  cease.  All  the  domestic  relations 
are  to  be  sanctified.  Every  village  is  to  have  its  school  an.l  its 
church;  every  family  its  Bible,  and  the  morning  and  the  evening 
prayer.  The  tabernacle  of  God  is  to  be  pitched  among  men. 
The  favor  of  God  is  to  be  invoked  upon  every  enterprise  ;  a 
reverential  fear  of  God  is  to  pervade  every  movement ;  the 
love  of  God  is  to  be  cherisbed  in  every  bosom.  Then  will 
have  arrived  the  time  when  trees  of  righteousness  shall  stretch 
forth  their  protecting  branches  in  every  country,  and  display  their 
fresh  and  undecaying  foliage  for  the  healing  of  the  nations.  Then 
the  days  of  mourning,  lamentation,  and  woe  shall  be  succeeded  by 
universal  confidence,  peace,  and  joy  ;  and  the  acclamations  of  ran- 
somed millions,  without  a  discordant  voice,  will  ascend  from  all  the 
continents  and  islands  of  this  regenerated  and  happy  world. 

"2.  The  disciples  of  Christ  should  more  justly  estimate  the  conse- 
quences of  their 'personal  efforts.  Perhaps  there  is  no  subject  on  which 
men  are  more  apt  to  err,  than  in  not  assigning  its  proper  and  full 
effect  to  a  consistent  example,  and  to  a  persevering  course  of 
Christian  beneficence.  The  individual  who  holds  all  his  powers 
and  faculties  consecrated  to  the  service  of  his  Lord,  will,  in 
the  lapse  of  years,  infuse  the  same  spirit  into  others  ;  and  will 
thus  multiply  the  means  of  doing  good  to  a  surprising  extent. 
And  now,  when  the  faithful  labors  of  the  pious  are  seen  to  have 
so  direct  a  bearing  upon  the  prosperity  of  our  own  churches,  the 
purification  of  our  great  community,  the  conversion  of  distant 
tribes,  and  the  renovation  of  the  world,  what  excuse  can  there  be 
for  apathy,  or  for  slow,  hesitating,  and  feeble  movements  ?  What- 
ever may  have  been  the  case  in  former  times,  when  there  was 
little  communication  between  different  parts  of  the  world,  and 
when  all  the  advantages  of  concentrated  action  had  not  been 
proved,  it  is  now  perfectly  apparent  that  the  friends  of  God  and 
man  are  called  upon  to  act  with  one  heart  and  one  soul,  for  the 
accomplishment  of  one  grand  object.  This  great  and  blessed 
union,  so  holy  in  its  design,  so  reasonable  in  its  nature,  so  glorious 
in  its  results,  cannot  be  promoted  in  any  way  so  rapidly,  or  so  ef- 
fectually, as  by  bringing  to  its  aid  an  active,  zealous,  personal  in- 
fluence. Now  is  the  time  for  noble  examples,  attended  by  lively 
exhortations  and  a  faithful  testimony  to  others.  Let  the  man 
who  can  easily  make  his  influence  felt  through  a  neighborhood,  or 
a  town,  give  himself  no  rest  till  it  shall  be  actually  thus  felt;  and 
till  his  friends  and  neighbors  shall  become  associated  with  him  in 
the  most  delightfLil  work  to  which  their  hands  and  hearts  were 


284  LIFE   OF  EVAKTS. 

ever  invited.  Is  he  able  to  move  a  county  or  a  state,  let  him  feel 
the  urgency  of  the  claims  which  his  Saviour  has  upon  him.  And 
■urhile  he  goes  forth  to  stimulate  his  brethren,  let  him  remember 
how  great  will  be  the  difTerence  between  their  engaging  in  the 
cause  now,  with  their  whole  strength,  and  their  deferring  it  to  a 
more  convenient  season,  and  leaving  it  to  the  uncertainty  of 
future  years. 

"  3.  TJie  foUoiccrs  of  CJirist  hate  need  to  onake  much  greater  ad- 
vances than  they  have  yet  made,  in  feeling  and  manifesting  an  inter- 
est i?i  the  success  of  their  Master's  cause.  If,  as  the  Apostle  says, 
whether  one  member  suffer,  all  the  members  suffer  ivith  it ;  or  one 
member  be  honored,  all  the  members  rejoice  ivith  it,  how  lively  should 
the  sympathy  be,  at  the  present  day,  between  the  professors  of 
godliness  in  Christian  lands,  and  their  brethren  among  the  heath- 
en ! — between  the  great  host  of  the  faithful,  and  the  small  band  of 
pioneers,  who  have  penetrated  into  the  territories  of  the  enemy  I 
Far  from  the  heart  be  apathy,  negligence,  lukewarmness.  Every 
man,  and  every  woman,  who  can  feel  for  the  sufferings  of  our 
race,  and  can  jvidge  what  it  is  to  have  no  hope,  and  to  live  without 
God  in  the  world,  should  watch  every  movement  in  the  preparations 
for  the  great  struggle  which  is  commencing.  What  right  will  any 
one  have  to  exult  in  the  victory,  who  now  sits  with  his  arms  fold- 
ed, and  his  mind  at  ease,  w*hen  the  greatest  of  all  controversies  is 
about  to  be  decided?  What  right  has  such  an  one  to  number 
himself  among  the  soldiers  of  the  cross  ?  If  a  man  does  not  ex- 
hibit signs  of  life  at  such  a  time  as  this,  how  can  it  be  concluded 
that  he  has  the  principle  of  life  within  him  ?  Let  it  be  well  consid- 
ered, then,  how  vast  an  augmentation  of  interest  there  must  be  in 
our  churches,  before  all  the  members  shall  be  prepared  to  take 
that  part  in  the  benevolent  operations  of  the  day,  which  would 
comport  so  well  with  their  profession,  and  to  which  they  are  urged 
by  every  motive  of  fidelity  to  their  Lord. 

"  4.  It  should  be  more  generally  felt  than  it  seems  to  be  at 
present,  that  great  advances  in  personal  holiness  are  indispensable  to  a 
rapid  and  successful  prosecution  of  the  missionary  xvork.  This  is  a 
matter  of  vital  importance.  If  it  is  overlooked,  all  the  machinery 
of  missions,  schools  and  presses,  will  be  a  cumbersome  apparatus, 
— a  laborious,  exhausting,  useless  parade.  It  is  believed,  indeed, 
that  true  piety,  sincere  love  to  God  and  man,  is  at  the  bottom  of 
the  extraordinary  efforts  which  we  behold.  But  a  great  increase 
of  piety,  at  home  and  abroad,  is  extremely  desirable.  After  all 
proper  allowances  on  account  of  the  reverence  which  we  justly 
feel  for  the  memory  of  saints  in  ages  that  are  past,  where  can  we 
now  find  such  men  as  Baxter  and  Doddridge,  Edwards  and  Brain- 
erd?  Or  if  we  can  fix  upon  an  individual,  here  and  there,  who 
bears  a  pleasing  resemblance  to  these  illustrious  champions  of  the 
cross,  how  rare  are  the  instances.  But  the  exigencies  of  the  times 
demand  many,  very  many  individuals,  who,  in  purity  of  doctrine, 
holiness  of  life,  compass  of  thought,  enlargement  of  views,  capa- 
city of  labor,  intenseness  of  desire,  fervor  of  zeal,  and  assurance 
of  triumph,  shall  make  a  visible  and  near  approach  to  the  great 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  285 

Apostle  of  the  Gentiles.  The  friends  of  missions,  the  conductors 
of  missions,  and  the  beloved  missionaries  themselves,  need  fresh 
anointings  from  on  high.  Oh  that  it  would  please  the  God  of  all 
consolation  and  hope  to  inspire  his  servants  with  a  pure  devotion, 
accompanied  by  spiritual  influences  shed  abroad  upon  others;  and 
thus  give  the  most  joyful  evidence  that  the  coming  of  the  Lord  to 
reign  over  the  nations  is  near,  even  at  the  door." 


At  an  early  period  of  the  meeting  a  committee,  of  whom  Mr. 
Evarts  was  one,  was  appointed  to  consider  the  subject  of  the  in- 
crease of  funds  and  the  enlargement  of  operations.  On  Saturday 
they  reported  a  series  of  resolutions,  recognizing  gratefully  the  suc- 
cess of  the  enterprise  and  the  state  of  the  public  mind,  as  calling 
for  enlarged  operations,  and  recommending  an  appeal,  especially 
to  the  more  wealthy  friends  of  missions,  for  more  liberal  aid. 
When  the  Board  was  about  to  enter  upon  the  consideration  of  this 
report,  a  member  remarked  that  this  was  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant subjects  that  ever  engaged  the  attention  of  a  deliberative 
assembly,  and  suggested  that  special  prayer  be  made  for  the 
blessing  of  God  upon  the  Board  in  the  approaching  discussion. 
Prayer  was  offered,  and  the  discussion  resumed. 

A  plan  was  suggested  by  friends  of  the  Board,  for  raising  an 
extra  subscription  of  ,^100,000;  which  was  urged  at  a  special 
meeting,  by  thrilling  appeals  from  Mr.  Josiah  Bissell  of  Rociies- 
ter,  Rev.  Drs.  Beecher  and  McAuley,  Rev.  Jonas  King,  and 
others.  The  result  was  an  unprecedented  subscription  on  the 
spot — two  subscriptions  of  ,^5,000  each,  annually,  for  five  years  ; 
six  others  of  -^  1,000  ;  a  pledge  by  an  individual  of  $'10,000,  for 
hi(nself  and  friends  ;  the  whole  amount  being  ^25,675  ;  ^20,615 
of  which  was  in  annual  subscriptions  for  five  years,  making 
^108,375,  mostly,  however,  on  the  condition  that  the  subsciiption 
should  be  raised  to  ^100,000  within  twelve  months.  Mr.  Evarts 
sympathised  with  the  prevailing  feeling,  and  rejoiced,  but  with 
trembling.  "  I  have  just  returned,"  he  wrote  to  the  missionaries 
at  the  Sandwich  Islands,  "  from  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Board 
at  New  York,  which,  on  several  accounts,  was  the  most  interest- 
ing meeting  I  ever  attended,  but  particularly,  as  it  furnished  abun- 
dant proof  that  the  missionary  spirit  is  rising,  and  that  there 
will  be  no  want  of  funds  for  the  support  of  missions,  provided  the 


286  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

Lord  gives  wisdom  to  the  directors  of  missions  to  select  suitable 
missionaries,  and  gives  success  to  their  labors.  The  confidence  in 
our  Committee  and  our  Board  is  so  great  that  it  makes  me  tremble 
for  our  responsibility  ;  and  I  earnestly  exhort  you  all  to  strive, 
equally  and  constantly,  for  high  moral  and  spiritual  attainments. 
Avoid  all  jealousy,  ambition,  indolence,  unprofitable  use  of  time, 
useless  disputes  with  opposers.  Be  cautious  not  to  forget  for  a 
day  how  much  depends  upon  your  united  counsels.  Preserve  your 
health  as  far  as  possible,  consistently  with  the  discharge  of  plain 
duties.  Remember  that  it  is  not  for  the  Sandwich  Islands  alone 
that  you  live  and  labor,  but  for  the  whole  heathen  world,  on  which 
your  example  and  influence  will  be  brought  to  bear,  and  which 
must  be  affected  by  what  you  do.  If  God  should  see  fit  to  give  you 
in  a  high  degree  persevering  Christian  virtue,  great  practical  wis- 
dom, and  glorious  success,  you  are  a  beacon  to  the  whole  world, 
and  your  light  will  especially  beam  upon  the  western  coast  of 
North  and  South  America.  Your  mission  has  been  hitherto  suc- 
cessful in  a  manner  nearly  or  quite  unexampled,  (let  God  have 
the  glory,)  and  I  am  far  from  expressing  distrust  for  the  future  ; 
but  you  and  we  must  feel  that  we  have  not  yet  attained,  and  that 
we  are  to  press  forward." 

Thus  originated  a  great  extra  effort,  as  It  was  called.  It  was 
not  successful,  in  securing  for  the  Board  the  specified  sum  in  the 
proposed  way  :  and  the  effect  upon  many  minds  was  doubtless 
unfavorable.  The  view  taken  of  it  by  Mr.  Evarts  is  partly  indi- 
cated in  his  letter  to  Mr.  Bissell,  on  a  preceding  page.  They  are 
more  fully  expressed  in  the  following  letters  to  the  chairman  of 
the  New  York  committee  ;  and  it  is  believed  that  the  results 
(aside  from  the  raising  of  the  specific  sum)  have  very  much  corres- 
ponded with  his  expectations. 

TO    E.    LORD,    ESQ, 

Boston,  November  30, 1S27. 

"  You  will  excuse  me  for  suggesting  (though  I  doubt  not  your 
Committee  are  of  the  same  opinion)  that  this  special  effort  should 
be  confined  to  the  wealthy  and  the  prosperous,  to  those  who  are 
able  to  engage  a  handsome  donation.     In  this  way  only  can  you 


LIFE  OF  EVARTS.  287 

avoid  interfering  with  the  general  plan  of  contributing  through  the 
associations  ;  and  I  think,  in  all  your  movements  you  should  guard 
against  misapprehension  on  this  point,  by  having  it  clearly  stated 
that  this  effort,  made  by  friends  of  the  Board  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  a  great  object,  is  not  designed  to  hinder,  to  supersede,  or 
in  any  way  to  interfere  with,  the  plan  of  a  general  organization  of 
the  friends  of  missions  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  of  all 
classes  of  persons.  On  the  other  hand,  those  who  manifest  pe- 
culiar liberality  in  this  extra  effort,  should  take  good  care  to 
strengthen  the  associations  by  making  the  payments  through  these 
channels  ;  or  if  that  should  not  be  thought  best,  by  subscribing  a 
distinct  sum  as  members  of  the  associations. 

"  Go  on  and  prosper,  dear  brethren,  and  expect  to  see  greater 
things  in  the  world,  than  have  yet  presented  themselves  to  our 
eyes." 

TO    E.    LORD,    ESQ. 

Boston,  December  15, 1S27. 

"  Your  letter  of  the  12th  came  to  hand  this  morning,  and  be- 
ing desirous  that  you  should  have  an  answer  by  return  of  mail,  I 
must  write  briefly,  and  without  consulting  my  associates. 

"  You  will  easily  perceive  that  the  Prudential  Committee  are 
placed  in  a  delicate  situation  respecting  the  extra  efforts  now 
making  under  the  auspices  of  the  Committee  of  which  you  are 
chairman.  In  order  to  make  this  business  plain,  1  will  give  a 
short  history  of  the  origin  and  progress  of  this  effort. 

"  Mr.  Bissell  proposed  the  half  million  plan,  as  he  called  it, 
early  last  summer.  I  wrote  to  him  that  I  thought  he  calculated 
too  sanguinely  ;  but  that  we  had  long  contemplated  an  effort  to 
be  made  with  rich  Christians,  by  which  they  should  be  induced 
to  engage  large  sums  annually,  as  long  as  they  should  live  ;  that 
such  sums  should  separately  support  a  missionary  or  some  distinct 
missionary  labor,  had  been  long  in  Mr.  Fisk's  mind,  and  we  hoped 
for  his  aid  in  accomplishing  such  an  effort,  if  he  had  lived  to  re- 
turn to  this  country.  Before  the  meeting  of  the  Board,  Mr.  Bis- 
sell had  seen  several  of  the  members,  and  had  given  them  a  pretty 
favorable  impression   in  regard   to  the  practicability  of  his   plan. 


288  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

When  I  first  saw  him,  which  was  on  my  arrival  in  New  York, 
October  1st,  I  told  him  his  great  error  in  calculation  was  this  : 
he  went  upon  the  assumption  that  every  city  and  town  could  be 
made  to  act  in  these  matters  like  Rochester,  in  proportion  to  the 
numbers  of  professed  Christians  ;  without  considering  that  every 
place  has  not  such  a  man  as  himself,  and  that  people  throughout 
our  land  have  not  been  in  such  a  course  of  training,  as  the  people 
of  Rochester  have. 

"  When  his  proposal  came  before  the  Board,  you  recollect  that 
it  was  the  opinion  of  all,  that  we,  as  a  Board,  could  not  bring  it 
before  the  public  ;  that  our  numerous  pledges  forbade  it ;  and 
that  our  general  plan  of  organization  was  more  important  than  any 
particular  measure.  With  this  decision,  which  appeared  to  be 
unanimous,  Mr.  Bissell  was  entirely  satisfied." 

TO    E.    LORD,    ESQ. 

Boston,  December  15,  1827. 

"  Though  I  have  sent  to  the  post-office  two  letters  to-day,  on  the 
subject  of  your  extra  effort,  and  in  answer  to  your  favor  of  the 
12th,  there  are  some  topics  on  which  I  have  as  yet  said  nothing 
directly. 

'•'  As  to  the  importance  of  the  Jive  years  subscription  being  en- 
tirely successful,  I  see  clearly  that  such  an  event  would  be  ex- 
tremely happy  in  its  results,  both  as  it  respects  this  country  and 
Europe;  and  I  should  deeply  regret  a  disappointment  in  this  re- 
spect. I  cannot  agree  with  you,  however,  that,  unless  the  plan 
should  be  entirely  successful,  it  would  have  been  better  that  no 
extra  effort  should  have  been  made.  Unless  I  have  been  under  a 
mistake,  much  good  has  been  done  already  in  various  ways,  by 
attracting  attention  to  the  subject  of  missions  ;  by  shewing  men 
of  the  world  that  the  friends  of  Christ  can  do  liberal  things  for 
his  cause  ;  by  raising  the  standard  of  Christian  liberality,  and  by 
convincing  people  practically  that  it  does  not  hurt  them  to  part 
with  their  property  for  good  objects.  Indeed,  your  own  observa- 
tions on  the  good  that  is  done  by  getting  men  personally  interest- 
ed, as  large  subscribers,  are  in  perfect  coincidence  with  my  views 
on  the  subject.     The  good  thus  done  will  be  in  proportion  to  the 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  339 

number  of  individuals  interested,  whether  that  number  shall  be  as 
great  as  we  could  wish  or  not. 

"  You  remark  that,  personally,  you  were  not  sanguine  as  to  the 
expediency  of  attempting  the  thing  in  the  form  and  for  the  amount 
that  was  decided  upon,  but  yielded  to  those  who  had  money  to 
give,  or  who  felt  strong  confidence  as  to  the  disposition  of  those 
who  possess  wealth.  This  was  my  own  state  of  mind,  and  I 
think,  the  state  of  mind  of  many  other  members  of  the  Board. 
But  I  felt  deeply  impressed  with  the  awe  and  reverence  which 
were  due  to  the  extraordinary  leadings  of  Providence  as  mani- 
fested in  the  long  cherished  plan  of  Mr.  Bissell  ;  his  extraordinary 
success  in  previous  efforts  ;  the  high  character  of  devotedness  in 
his  conduct  and  principles ;  the  presence  and  most  gratifying 
statement  of  Mr.  King ;  the  corroborating  statement  of  Dr.  Spring, 
who  had  been  in  France;  the  lively  and  earnest  support  of  others 
of  the  New  York  clergy  ;  the  evident  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
in  the  deliberations  of  the  Board,  that  ever  blessed  and  most  be- 
neficent Agent  in  the  glorious  work  of  man's  redemption,  whose 
kindly  influences  should  always  be  spoken  of  with  gratitude  and 
praise  ;  the  uncommon  liberality  which  appeared  ready  to  burst 
forth  on  the  first  'impulse.  All  these  things  led  me  to  think  that 
it  was  safer  to  stand  still  and  see  what  Providence  would  do,  than 
to  quench  the  holy  ardor  of  the  occasion  by  what  would  have 
been  deemed  cold  and  timid  calculations.  And  since  the  meeting 
•of  the  Board,  the  success  at  Albany  and  Troy  has  been  such, 
as,  though  not  equal  to  Mr.  Bissell's  anticipation,  should  greatly 
encourage  you  and  us." 

Mr..Evart3,  it  will  be  seen,  felt  strongly  that  the  effort  demand- 
ed of  those  to  whom  the  appeal  was  made,  no  more  than  was 
reasonable,  and  that  such  movement  of  the  public  mind  was  right 
and  proper.  His  own  standard  of  Christian  duty  in  regard  to 
missions  had  been  long  since  formed,  and  here  he  saw  with  grati- 
tude and  joy  an  approach  to  it  by  greater  numbers  of  people,  and 
with  greater  rapidity,  than  ever  before.  His  heart  was  animated 
by  the  fact.  He  felt  more  deeply  the  responsibilities  of  his  own 
position,  and  was  excited  to  extraordinary  diligence,  that  he  might 
37 


290  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

not  fail  to  discharge,  in  a  manner  acceptable  to  God,  the  duties 
that  pressed  upon  him.  Thinking  it  ''conducive  to  fidelity  and 
industry,"  he  resumed,  on  the  1st  of  December,  a  brief  journal  of 
his  daily  labors.  The  spirit  that  had  been  awakened,  he  strove 
to  keep  alive  and  diffuse.  This  is  seen  in  all  his  correspondence, 
and  it  breathes  earnestly  in  some  papers  prepared  for  the  Mission- 
ary Herald. 

"  For  several  years  past,"  was  his  language,  "  the  number  of  in- 
dividuals has  been  increasing,  who  have  deeply  felt,  and  strongly 
expressed,  their  sense  of  the  obligalion  resting  upon  our  Christian 
community,  to  enter  with  great  energy  into  the  fields  now  open  for 
missionary  labor.  The  conviction  that  the  friends  of  missions  in 
America  are  called  upon  to  take  a  vigorous  part  in  the  glorious  en- 
terprise of  sending  the  Gospel  into  all  the  world,  is  firmly  estab- 
lished in  the  minds  of  many.  Nor  does  the  matter  rest  in  a  mere 
conviction  of  the  understanding.  A  rapid  advance  has  taken  place 
in  the  willingness  to  make  pecuniary  sacrifices  for  this  object.  It 
can  now  be  truly  said,  that  persons  of  both  sexes  are  to  be  found, 
in  city  and  country,  who  esteem  it  a  privilege  to  bring  large  con- 
tributions in  aid  of  this  work  of  the  Lord. 

"  A  strong  desire  has  been  manifested  within  the  last  few 
months,  that  the  operations  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions 
should  be  immediately  and  greatly  extended;  and  that,  as  a  pre- 
paratory measure,  a  corresponding  increase  of  pecuniary  means 
should  be  secured.  An  enlarged  liberahty,  disdaining  the  limits 
of  previous  examples,  seemed  ready  to  burst  forth,  whenever  a 
distinct  call  should  be  made  for  it,  with  reference  to  specific  plans 
of  evangelical  effort.  At  the  late  annual  meetmg  of  the  Board, 
such  plans  were  proposed ;  and  the  immediate  effect  was  an  un- 
paralleled subscription,  the  details  of  which  appeared  in  our  last 
number.  When  the  intelligence  of  this  spontaneous  effort  went 
abroad,  it  was  heard  with  joy  and  thanksgiving  by  multitudes,  and 
was  made  the  signal  for  new  and  extraordinary  exertions  through 
the  land. 

"Such  have  been  the  indications  of  Providence  in  regard  to  this 
subject,  that  the  Committee  feel  authorized  to  believe  that  a  new 
era  has  dawned  upon  the  American  churches ;  and  that  the  time  has 
arrived,  when  such  a  number  of  wealthy  and  prosperous  disciples 
of  Christ  will  come  forward  with  their  liberal  offerings  unsolicited, 
as  shall  attract  the  attention  and  gain  the  co-operation  of  their 
brethren  in  less  affluent  circumstances  ;  and  thus,  unless  the  signs 
of  the  times  are  mistaken,  there  will  hereafter  be  no  delay  for 
want  of  money,  to  send  into  any  inviting  field  such  well  qualified 
laborers  as  God  shall  furnish  and  endow  with  the  requisite  spirit 
and  zeal. 

"  This  state  of  things  impo.ses  very  solemn  duties  upon  the 
Comniittee,  both  in  regard  to  selecting  new  stations,  and  appoint- 
ing missionaries  and  assistants  to  occupy  them." 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 


291 


"  Looking  to  Jesns,  the  author  and  finisher  of  our  faith,  and 
considering  the  peculiar  duties  and  obhgations  of  the  age,  the 
Committee  feel  prepared  to  say  that  no  man  who  possesses  suit- 
able qualifications  to  go  forth  as  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel  to  the 
heathen,  need  hesitate  a  moment  lest  his  services  should  not  be 
needed.  Every  sach  man  is  bound  solemnly  to  consider  in  what 
place  it  is  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord  that  he  should  live  and  labor; 
and,  should  he  feel  moved  to  offer  himself  for  the  missionary 
work,  he  will  next  make  the  matter  a  subject  of  prayer  and  of 
solemn  consultation  with  judicious  Christian  friends  who  are  well 
acquainted  with  his  character." 

It  was  not,  however,  this  subject  alone  that  occupied  his  time. 
As  was  always  the  case  when  at  home,  he  was  active  in  every 
duty  of  his  position  as  a  member  and  officer  of  Park  Street 
Church,  and  as  one  in  whose  judgment  and  activity  the  orthodox 
Christians  of  Boston  very  much  confided  in  regard  to  every 
common  movement.  And  at  tliis  period,  the  state  of  things 
was  so  interesting  and  peculiar  as  to  make  large  demands  upon 
his  time. 

There  had  appeared,  too,  in  London,  a  book  relating  to  the 
Sandwich  Islands,*  and  a  review  of  it  in  the  London  Quarterly, 
containing  gross  misrepresentations  and  slanders  in  regard  to  our 
mission  there.  Appearing  with  such  external  marks  of  authority, 
and  being  put  forth  with  an  air  of  confidence,  these  representa- 
tions were  well  calculated  to  make  an  impression  upon  such  as 
were  neither  particularly  acquainted  with  the  facts  in  this  case,  nor 
interested  in  the  cause  of  missions  generally.  Happily,  Mr. 
Evarts  had  at  command  the  most  ample  materials  for  an  answer, 
which  he  wrought  into  a  lively  and  effective  article  for  the  North 
American  Review.  Never  were  slanders  more  triumphantly  re- 
futed, or  the  shallow  arts  of  accusing  ignorance  and  malice  more 
thoroughly  exposed.f 

Thus  ended  the  year  1827. 

*  Voyage  of  his  Majesty's  Ship  Blonde  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  in  the  years  1S24-5. 
Capt.  the  Rt.  Hon.  Lord  Byron,  commander;  London,  1S26.  4to.  The  volume  was  a 
bookseller's  speculation,  prepared  by  another  and  unfriendly  hand,  from  certain  papers 
obtained  from  the  chaplain  of  the  Blonde. 

t  See  North  American  Review,  No.  LVIII,  January  1&2S,  pp.  59—126.  The  ariicle 
was  also  published  in  a  separate  pamphlet,  with  a  brief  but  caustic  postscript,  con- 
taining additional  damnatory  facts  relating  to  the  publishers  of  the  slander. 


292  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  year  1828,  Mr.  Evarts  was 
deeply  interested  in  the  progress  of  truth  in  his  own  neighbor- 
hood. Several  new  orthodox  churches  had  been  recently  formed 
in  Boston,  and  houses  of  worship  erected  for  their  accommo- 
dation ;  in  all  which  he  took  an  active  part,  devising  plans, 
harmonizing  interests,  and  contributing  liberally  towards  the 
necessary  expenses.  Another  measure  deemed  necessary  at  this 
juncture,  for  the  defence  and  advancement  of  the  truth,  was  the 
establishment  of  a  new  religious  magazine.'  Since  the  discon- 
tinuance of  the  Panoplist  in  1820,  the  orthodox  community  in 
Massachusetts  had  possessed  no  journal  of  the  kind  ;  and  it  was 
felt  that,  the  controversies  of  the  times  having  assumed  new  as- 
pects, the  friends  of  evangelical  truth  ought  again  to  appear  in 
the  field  of  active  public  discussion.  In  all  the  consultations  and 
preliminary  arrangements  that  led  to  the  establishment  of  The 
Spirit  of  the  Pilgrims,  Mr.  Evarts  took  a  leading  part,  and  the 
delicate  office  of  preparing  the  introductory  article  was  assigned 
to  him. 

Of  his  labors  in  regard  to  such  movements,  no  adequate  record 
exists,  and  among  his  own  papers,  the  slightest  possible  reference 
to  them,  or  none  at  all.  But  it  will  long  be  remembered  how  the 
hearts  of  those  who  loved  Zion  were  smitten,  when  he  was  re- 
moved from  these  councils,  feeling  that  they  had  lost  one  who 
was  unsurpassed  in  any  quality  that  can  render  a  wise  man's 
counsels  or  a  good  man's  influence  valuable,  and  who  "  showed  as 
little  liability  to  mistake  as  can  be  expected  of  any  man  in  this 
state  of  imperfection."  * 

Looking  forward,  in  consequence  of  the  existing  state  of  the 
public  mind,  to  enlarged  missionary  operations,  he  did  all  in  his 
power  to  render  the  movement  a  safe  and  effectual  one — to  guard 
it  from  dangers  and  facilitate  its  action.  For  this  purpose,  among 
other  things,  he  prepared  with  great  care,  suggestions  to  candi- 
dates for  employment  as  missionaries,  and  to  their  friends,  which  ap- 
peared in  the  Herald  for  January.  In  pursuance  of  our  purpose 
to  exhibit  in  his  own  language,  as  far  as  practicable,  his  views  on 

*  Sermon  on  the  death  of  Mr.  Evarts.  by  Rev.  Leonard  Woods,  D.  D. 


LIFE  OF  EVARTS.  293 

important   questions  connected   with   the  cause,  the  substance  of 
this  paper  is  here  inserted  : 

"  Without  further  introduction,  the  following  remarks  are  sub- 
mitted to  the  consideration  of  such  readers  as  contemplate  enter- 
ing upon  a  missionary  hfe.  It  may  fairly  be  assumed,  that,  among 
the  younger  members  of  evangelical  churches  throughout  our  land, 
the  number  of  such  readers  is  by  no  means  small ;  and,  as  the 
spirit  of  Christian  benevolence  rises,  and  the  demand  for  missioii- 
ary  labor  becomes  more  imperious,  it  may  be  expected  that  this 
number  will  be  continually  increasing. 

'•1.  Let  those  who  think  of  personally  going  forth  to  the  heathen 
as  heralds  of  divine  mercy,  sit  down  and  deliberately  coiint  the  cost. 
There  is  some  danger  lest,  in  the  glow  of  youthful  feeling,  and 
under  the  stimulus  of  crow^ded  assemblies,  and  eloquent  addresses, 
and  examples  of  liberality,  the  cause  of  missions  should  be  regarded 
only  in  the  light  of  a  glorious  and  triumphant  cause  ;  and  not  as  an 
arduous  conflict,  a  long  continued  struggle,  a  controversy  w^ith  prin- 
cipalities and  powers  and  spiritual  wickedness  in  high  places. 
But  it  is  a  diHerent  thing  to  spend  one's  strength  among  ignorant 
idolaters,  or  rude  savages,  from  what  it  is  to  read  accounts 
of  missionary  labors,  or  to  form  in  imagination  a  picture  of 
a  vigorous  and  successful  onset  against  the  powders  of  darkness. 
There  is  no  safe  course  for  a  missionary,  but  to  expect  many  trials  ; 
some  of  them  unforeseen  and  unthought  of,  and  others  different 
in  reality  from  what  they  were  in  contemplation.  If  faithful  and 
devoted,  he  will  also  experience  many  consolations ;  and  not  the 
least  of  which  will  be  the  sustaining  consciousness  that  he  is  in- 
fluenced by  the  benevolence  of  the  Gospel ; — the  same  principle, 
which  appeared  with  such  transcendent  loveUness  in  the  character 
of  our  Saviour,  and  which  was  exhibited  to  so  happy  an  extent, 
and  ill  so  remarkable  a  manner,  by  the  great  apostle  to  the  Gen- 
tiles. He  will  be  in  the  habit  of  reflecting,  also,  that  the  object  is 
worthy  of  infinitely  greater  sacrifices  than  he  can  have  made  to  it ; 
and  that,  however  discouraging  appearances  may  be,  the  ultimate 
consequences  of  fidehty  will  be  unspeakably  delightful  and  glo- 
rious. 

"  2.  It  is  very  important  that  those  who  are  looking  forward  to 
the  responsible  station  of  missionaries,  should  be  thoroughly  ac- 
quainted with  their  own  character.  There  is  more  need  of  caution 
here,  as  men  are  apt  to  be  ignorant  of  themselves  ;  and  especially  is 
it  true  that  young  persons,  during  the  progress  of  their  education, 
often  greatly  misjudge  as  to  their  relative  standing,  and  their  pre- 
vailing motives  of  action.  The  real  character  of  a  man  is,  however, 
very  likely  to  develope  itself  suddenly,  when  he  is  thrown  into  diffi- 
cult and  untried  circumstances.  Let  the  candidate  for  missionary 
employment,  then,  make  it  a  particular  study  to  ascertain  how  he 
stands  in  the  sight  of  'God.  For  this  let  him  labor  with  much 
assiduity  ;  not  merely  to  gain  satisfaction  as  to  his  having  repent- 
ed of  sin  and  believed  hi  Christ,  but  to  learn  whether  he  has  that 


294  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

love  for  the  souls  of  men,  that  devotedness,  that  zeal,  that  patience 
in  trouble,  that  readiness  for  kind  andbrotherly  co-operation,  which 
are  essential  to  an  elevated  course  of  Christian  beneficence. 
To  aid  himself  in  this  matter,  let  him  apply  to  some  pious  friend, 
who  can  judge  impartially,  and  who  will  become  a  candid  and 
faithful  adviser.  It  will  be  of  incalculable  benefit  to  a  missionary 
to  have  made  great  progress  in  moral  discipline  ; — in  subduing 
pride,  selfishness,  vanity,  ambition,  and  habits  of  indulgence,  be- 
ibre  he  takes  upon  him  a  public  character.  To  all  these  evils,  and 
many  others  the  heart  of  man  is  exposed;  and  it  is  not  the  part  of 
wisdom  to  deny  the  danger,  or  attempt  to  conceal  it.  In  the  busi- 
ness of  self-government,  those  are  the  most  successful  who  have 
the  most  thorough  knowledge  of  their  weakness,  their  exposures, 
and  their  dangers. 

"  3.  The  missionary  enterprise  has  now  arrived  at  such  a  stage 
in  its  progress,  that  the  soldiers  of  the  cross  have  special  need  of 
being  well  furnished  with  the  Gospel  armor.  The  evangelical  ex- 
ertions which  are  now  distinctly  and  avowedly  directed  to  the 
moral  renovation  of  the  world,  are  fast  attracting  the  attention  of 
all  observing  and  reflecting  men  ;  and  are  regarded  with  very  dif- 
ferent views  by  various  classes  of  individuals,  according  to  their 
feelings,  their  prejudices,  and  the  part  which  they  are  personally 
disposed  to  take,  either  in  favor  of  diviue  truth,  or  against  it. 

"  The  friends  and  supporters  of  missions  entertain  high  hopes  of 
success,  as  they  have  good  reason  for  doing ;  but  these  hopes  be- 
ing somewhat  indefinite,  in  regard  to  time,  manner,  and  circum- 
stances, often  lead  to  sanguine  conclusions.  These  friends,  also, 
very  generally  form  an  exalted  opinion  of  the  moral  excellence  of 
missionaries  ;  and  the  mere  fact,  that  a  man  offers  to  go  forth  in 
this  capacity,  is  a  passport  to  their  xmbounded  confidence.  Such 
a  state  of  things  should  operate  powerfully  upon  the  mind  of  an 
ingenuous  man  ;  and  should  induce  him  to  aim  strenuously  to  prove 
worthy  of  that  confidence  which  is  so  liberally  bestowed  upon 
him  in  advance. 

"  The  enemies  of  Christ  were  probably  never  more  on  the  alert 
than  at  this  moment,  to  discover  flaws  in  the  character  of  his  pro- 
fessed friends,  and  to  publish  them  abroad,  with  a  view  to  bring 
reproach  and  disgrace  upon  all  that  is  doing  to  extend  the  limits  of 
the  church.  These  enemies  are  more  or  less  open  in  their  hostility, 
according  to  circumstances ;  but  they  all  agree  in  opposing  the 
progress  of  truth.  They  are  to  be  found  in  every  Christian  coun- 
try, and  have  access  to  almost  every  considerable  missionary  sta- 
tion. Some  of  them  are  becoming  much  alarmed,  and  habitually 
discover  great  malignity.  Let  every  missionary  expect  to  be 
watched  by  such  men  ;  let  him  make  this  anticipated  scrutiny  a 
reason  for  examining  and  judging  himself;  and  let  him  take  spe- 
cial care,  that  those  icJto  are  of  the  contrary  part  rnay  he  ashamed, 
having  no  evil  thing  to  say  ofhiw.;  or,  if  they  are  beyond  the  reach 
of  shame,  and  will  not  be  silent,  let  them  be  compelled  to  rely 
upon  mere  slander,  which  can  either  be  refuted,  or  left  to  destroy 
itself. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  295 

"It  is  always  to  be  remembered,  that  an  example  of  Christian  integ- 
rity, benevolence,  and  piety,  will  commend  itself  to  the  consciences 
of  even  the  most  bitter  opposers ;  while  others,  who  are  not  com- 
mitted by  any  acts  of  direct  hostility  to  the  truth,  will  not  be  back- 
ward in  avowing  their  convictions,  and  bearing  a  decided  testimony 
to  a  life  of  consistent  evangelical  virtue.  Progress  in  holiness  is 
to  be  desired  by  a  missionary,  as  a  mean  of  usefulness  to  all 
around  him,  while  it  is  a  source  of  unfailing  satisfaction  to  himself 

"4.  The  man  who  has  deliberately  consecrated  himself  to  the 
service  of  Christ  among  the  heathen,  should  not  be  solicitous  re- 
specting subordinate  matters.  He  should  cheerfully  leave  to  Prov- 
idence the  precise  field  of  his  labor,  the  time  and  manner  of  his 
going  forth,  and  other  things  of  a  similar  nature.  Not  that  he 
should  act  without  consideration  in  relation  to  any  subject,  howev- 
er small ; — nor  that  he  should  fail  to  communicate  any  facts,  views, 
or  reasonings,  which  have  weight  in  his  own  mind  ; — but  he  should 
carefully  avoid  distressing  anxiety  about  the  future,  and  cheerfully 
commit  himself  and  all  his  interests  to  God.  Nothing  is  m.ore 
common,  than  for  young  men  who  are  about  closing  the  term  of  their 
education,  to  feel  as  though  it  would  be  extremely  desirable  to 
have  the  tenor  of  their  future  years  marked  out  icith  certainty ;  not 
reflecting  that,  even  if  their  lives  were  secure  for  years  to  come, 
such  certainty  would  be  unattainable  by  human  power  or  foresight. 
It  cannot  be  attained  in  regard  to  any  class  of  men,  much  less  profes- 
sional men,  who  remain  in  our  own  country.  The  most  mature  plans 
are  often  interrupted ;  and  the  only  wise  and  safe  course,  at  home 
or  abroad,  is  to  prepare  for  usefulness  in  some  important  sphere, 
and  then  leave  every  future  allotment  to  be  disclosed  in  the  ordi- 
nary course  of  Providence. 

"  5.  The  man  who  contemplates  entering  upon  a  missionary 
life,  should  habitually  rely  upon  the  promise  and  the  favor  of 
God,  as  the  only  ground  of  confidence,  with  reference  to  the  great 
work  of  converting  the  nations.  No  combination  of  human  talents, 
no  multiplication  of  human  labors  can  ever  succeed,  unless  God 
accompany  these  labors  by  the  energy  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Though 
the  means  used  for  enlightening  and  reforming  and  saving  men 
are  wisely  fitted,  under  the  Gospel  dispensation,  to  accomplish 
these  glorious  ends,  yet  they  will  all  fail,  unless  they  are  followed 
by  a  special  blessing  from  on  high.  The  external  preparations  for 
spreading  the  Gospel,  though  increased  a  hundred  fold  beyond 
their  present  amount,  should  not  withdraw  our  attention  for  a  mo- 
ment from  the  Great  Source  of  spiritual  hfe,  without  whose  kindly 
influence  nothing  of  importance  will  be  done  for  the  permanent 
melioration  of  the  human  race.  The  hopes  of  the  Christian  world, 
while  they  rest  on  the  declared  purpose  of  the  Most  High,  are 
called  into  lively  exercise  by  events  which  are  continually  transpir- 
ing ;  and  it  seems  hardly  possible  to  avoid  the  conclusion,  that  He 
who  has  excited  his  people  to  strenuous  efforts,  and  united,  impor- 
tunate, and  persevering  prayer,  will  impart  that  divine  energy, 
without  which  every  thing  else  will  be  unavailing. 

"  As  the  number  of  missionaries  is  increasing,  and  will  increase 
still  more  rapidly,  a  large  portion  of  our  clergymen,  and  numerous 


296  ^IFE   OF   EVARTS. 

lay  members  of  our  churches,  will  be  called  upon  for  their  advice 
to  individuals  who  think  of  missionary  sei"vice,  and  for  their  testi- 
monials to  the  character  of  such  as  may  be  deemed  suitable  can- 
didates for  that  high  employment.  The  business  of  selecting  and 
sending  forth  spiritual  laborers  is  exceedingly  responsible  ;  and 
should  be  discharged  with  a  deep  feeling  of  the  magnitude  of  the 
interests  depending.  Private  friendships,  personal  attachments, 
and  the  strong  desires  of  the  intended  missionary,  should  never 
induce  to  the  recommendation  of  any  person,  who  is  not  deliber- 
ately judged  to  be  fit  for  the  sacred  vocation  to  which  he  aspires. 
It  need  not  be  said,  that  all  good  men  are  not  equally  qualified  for 
usefulness;  nor  that  a  man  who  will  be  useful  in  some  one  place,  may 
not  have  the  requisite  qualifications  to  be  useful  in  all  other  places. 
It  seems  proper  therefore,  to  call  the  attention  of  clergymen  and 
others  to  some  prominent  traits  of  character,  which  should  be 
foiuid  in  all  who  are  sent  forth  to  the  heathen,  either  as  ordained 
missionaries,  or  as  assistants  in  any  department  of  the  work. 

"  And  first,  as  a  general  quahfication,  it  is  extremely  desirable 
that  each  missionary  should  have  acquired  such  a  character  in  the 
religious  circles  where  he  is  known,  as  shall  call  forth  the  sponta- 
neous approbation  of  his  acquaintances,  when  his  purpose  is  first 
announced.  This  prompt  and  general  attestation  to  the  consisten- 
cy of  his  conduct  with  his  professions,  and  to  his  possessing  the 
great  elements  of  the  Christian  character,  is  one  of  the  best  evi- 
dences of  fitness  for  the  work,  so  far  as  these  evidences  fall  under 
human  cognizance.  It  is  very  gratifying  to  the  Committee  to  be 
informed  respecting  any  mdividual  recommended  to  them,  that 
he  is  such  a  man  as  will  do  good  any  where ;  that  his  offering 
himself  for  the  semce  is  unanimously  approved  by  those  who 
know  him ;  and  that  his  friends  will  expect  to  hear  good  things 
from  him,  into  whatever  part  of  the  vineyard  he  may  be  sent. 
The  Committee  would  not  intimate  that  such  a  reputation  for 
general  excellence  is  indispensable  ;  but  it  is  certainly  desirable, 
and  should  be  considered  as  attainable  by  all,  who,  with  singleness 
of  heart,  and  respectable  intellectual  powers,  devote  themselves 
to  the  promotion  of  the  glory  of  God. 

"  Besides  being  able  to  express  an  opinion  of  a  candidate's  gen- 
eral fitness  for  the  work,  those  who  give  testimonials  should  look 
distinctly  at  several  important  traits  of  character.  Here  the  Com- 
mittee would  observe  that  missionaries,  who  have  been  some  time 
in  the  field,  are  scriipulous  beyond  all  others,  in  regard  to  the  qual- 
ifications of  those  who  shall  be  sent  forth  to  them  as  fellow 
laborers.  They  confess  and  lament  their  own  deficiencies,  while 
they  would  do  all  in  their  power  to  raise  the  standard  of  missionary 
excellence.  Their  correspondence  bears  frequent  testimony  to 
their  earnestness  on  this  subject.  .  In  some  instances,  they  have 
consulted  together,  and  drawn  out  an  elaborate  description  of  such 
a  character  as  they  have  thought  candidates  should  possess.  At 
a  missionary  meeting  in  the  western  wilderness,  a  paper  of  this 
kind  was  composed,  from  which  the  following  particulars  are 
taken.     They  were  intended  to  apply  to  missionaries  who  shall 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  297 

go  to  the  Indians  beyond  the  Mississippi,  but  are  applicable,  with 
small  variations,  to  others. 

"  '  In  addition  to  vital  piety,  competent  literary  acquirements,  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  Bible  and  of  theology,  such  missionaries 
should  have, 

"'1.  An  enterprising  turn  of  mind ;  a  spirit  that  will  support  a 
man  while  he  travels  without  company,  sleeps  without  shelter,  and 
is  sick  without  attendants ;  a  spirit  that  will  sustain  hardship  of 
every  description  without  repining. 

"  '  2.  An  amiable  temper.  The  countenance  of  a  missionary 
should  indicate  a  pleasant  and  cheerful  state  of  mind,  and  should 
be  to  him,  wherever  he  goes,  his  letter  of  recommendation. 

"  '  3.  Promptness  in  argument.  Indians  are  sagacious  in  discern- 
ing character,  shrewd  in  their  cavils  against  true  reUgion,  and  ever 
ready  to  hold  in  derision  such  as  appear  weaker  or  less  wise 
than  themselves  ;  while  they  respect  those  whom  they  consider 
their  superiors. 

" '  4.  Equanimity  is  an  essential  qualification  of  the  western 
missionary.  He  must  pass  through  all  his  difficulties  with  a  firm, 
unshaken  resolution.  He  should  be  steadfast,  unmovable,  always 
mild,  always  affectionate,  but  always  decided. 

'"5.  Punctuality  to  his  engagements. 

" '  6.  Skill  in  the  p)Cbrticular  business  assigned  him.  No  novices 
should  be  sent  out.  A  great  degree  of  ardor  and  self-denial, 
though  it  may  entitle  a  man  to  compassion,  will  but  poorly  com- 
pensate for  the  losses  and  disappointments  sustained  by  the  mis- 
sion, in  consequence  of  his  inexperience  and  want  of  skill. 

"  '  7.  A  good  bodily  constitution.' 

"  It  will  be  observed,  that  the  sixth  particular  has  reference  to 
assistant  missionaries,  who  are  employed  as  teachers,  farmers,  and 
mechanics. 

"  The  Committee  would  add,  that  missionaries  of  all  classes, 
and  both  sexes,  should  have  a  well  established  character  for, 

"  8.  Habitual  industry.  It  is  not  sufficient  that  a  man  should  be 
capable  of  vigorous  activity  either  of  mind  or  body,  as  the  case 
may  be,  bat  he  should  have  been  in  habits  of  continued  employ- 
ment, and  should  be  uneasy,  and  out  of  his  element,  unless  actually 
employed. 

"  9.  Habitual  carefidness.  This  trait  of  character  should  have 
respect  to  every  part  of  duty.  The  missionary  should  be  careful 
of  property,  of  his  health,  of  his  words,  of  the  measures  he  re- 
commends, the  examples  he  sets,  and  of  all  his  means  and  oppor- 
tunities of  usefulness. 

"  10.  Humility,  embracing,  besides  what  is  usually  understood 
by  that  term,  a  willingness  to  labor  on  a  small  scale,  and  for 
the  benefit  of  a  few  immortal  beings,  when  a  larger  sphere  is 
not  accessible.  In  fixing  on  a  field  of  labor,  the  number  of  souls 
to  be  benefitted  is  always  an  important  consideration  ;  but  it  some- 
times happens  that  a  missionary,  even  in  a  populous  country,  can 
get  but  a  few  hearers.  There  are  many  causes  which  may  cir- 
cumscribe his  direct  influence  within  narrow  limits.     In  such  a 

38 


298  L^^E   OF  EVARTS. 

state  of  things,  he  should  consider  how  great  an  object  it  is  to  brin  g 
one  soul  to  heaven,  and  what  inconceivable  good  may  result  from 
his  forming  his  own  character  to  a  happy  resemblance  of  his 
Saviour, 

"  Jt  not  unfrequently  happens  that  persons  apparently  pious  qre 
encumbered  with  serious  disqualifications  for  missionary  services  ; 
which,  however,  they  may  not  regard  in  this  light,  or  perhaps  may 
not  be  conscious  of  them  at  all.  A  few  of  these  disqualifications 
will  be  mentioned. 

"  1.  A  disposition  to  change.  There  are  some  persons  who  are 
very  confident  they  could  do  a  great  deal  of  good,  if  they  were  in 
certain  imaginable  circumstances.  They  are  frequently  changing 
their  condition,  with  a  view  lo  arrive  at  a  state  so  desirable.  They 
always  see  many  reasons  for  new  changes,  and  thus  life  wears 
away,  while  they  are  preparing  to  employ  it  well.  Sometimes, 
beyond  a  doubt,  this  love  of  change  is  a  principal  cause  which 
first  j)rompts  the  desire  of  going  on  a  mission. 

"  2.  A  strong  tendency  to  depression  of  spirits.  No  man  needs 
the  buoyancy  of  a  cheerful,  elastic  state  of  mind  more  than  a  mis- 
sionary. He  should  be  grave  and  serious  ;  but  in  his  tempera- 
ment hope  and  joy  should  predominate. 

"  3.  Jealousy.  When  an  individual  is  known  to  suffer  from  this 
evil,  he  should  be  advised  to  remain  in  the  bosom  of  a  Christian 
community.  Jealousy  may  have  respect  to  many  subjects  ;  but,  in 
a  missionary,  it  naturally  fixes  upon  the  relative  standing  of  his 
brethren,  the  estimation  in  which  he  is  himself  held,  and  the  sup- 
posed motives  of  those  who  have  had  any  agency  in  assigning  his 
duties. 

"4.  A  habit  of  inconsiderate  talking.  Rash  and  idle  words  are 
very  inconvenient  things  in  a  missionary  circle.  In  a  large  society 
men  are  very  apt  to  find  their  level,  and  a  talkative  man  is  duly 
estimated ;  but  in  a  small  band  of  brethren,  shut  out  from  the 
world,  it  is  not  easy  to  restrain  an  ungovernable  tongue. 

"  5.  Incapacity  to  judge  of  human  character.  This  deficiency  is 
sometimes  called  ignorance  of  the  world,  and  sometimes  a  want 
of  common  sense.  It  is  occasionally  found  in  persons  who  have 
all  their  lives  had  intercourse  with  men  ;  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
many  whose  observation  has  been  confined  to  their  native  village, 
are  rarely  deceived  in  their  estimation  of  men  and  things. 

"  6.  Levity.  No  person  can  gain  the  respect  and  confidence 
of  uncivilized  men,  especially  of  our  western  Indians,  if  given  to 
lightness  of  mind ;  and  the  example  of  levity  is  extremely  un- 
profitable to  a  mission  family. 

"  The  present  indications  of  Providence  are  such  as  to  warrant 
the  confidence,  that  pecuniary  means  will  be  furnished  by  Ameri- 
can Christians,  adequate  to  sending  forth  to  the  heathen  as  many 
qualified  preachers  of  the  Gospel  as  can  be  found  ready  to  enter 
upon  the  service.  Old  fields  of  labor  are  extending,  new  ones  are 
opening,  and  millions  of  immortal  beings  are  waiting  to  hear  the 
message  of  salvation.  The  Committee  feel  as  though  they  are 
abundantly  supported  by  the  wishes,  and  pledges,  and  expectations 
of  their  Christian  brethren,  in  declaring  that  no  man  who  aspires 


LIFE    OF   EVARTS.  299 

to  this  high  and  holy  office,  need  hesitate  lest  he  should  not  find  a 
place  for  labor  among  the  heathen,  or  the  means  of  getting  access 
to  them.  Unless  all  the  signs  of  the  times  are  misinterpreted,  it 
may  also  be  taken  for  granted,  that  may  suitable  laborers  for  every 
department  of  the  work  will  be  selected  from  the  American 
churches  ;  and  that  our  happy  country,  greatly  favored  of  heaven 
in  temporal  and  spiritual  privileges,  will  be  honored  as  an  almoner 
of  the  divine  bounty  to  pagan  nations. 

"  Let  every  pious  young  man,  especially  if  preparing  for  the 
ministry,  seriously  inquire  what  the  Lord  ivould  have  1dm  to  do,  in 
reference  to  this  subject.  Let  him  ask  the  advice  of  his  Christian 
friends,  and  get  their  aid  in  forming  a  judgment  of  his  character. 
If  he  doubts  as  to  his  qualifications,  let  him  aim  to  become 
qualified. 

"  Ministers  and  private  Christians  should  feel  themselves  called 
upon  to  search  for  suitable  men,  whom  they  would  confide  in  as 
the  messengers  of  the  churches.  There  may  be  some,  perhaps 
many,  who,  from  too  low  an  estimate  of  themselves,  do  not  think 
of  missionary  employment ;  but  who  might  still  be  eminently 
useful.  Possibly  they  need  but  the  inspiring  voice  of  a  judicious 
adviser,  to  kindle  the  latent  spark  of  missionary  zeal  into  a 
flame. 

"  Besides  ordained  missionaries  and  agents,  the  missions  now 
under  the  care  of  the  Board,  and  others  to  be  formed,  will  need 
the  services  of  a  considerable  number  of  teachers  of  youth,  who 
should  be  men  and  women  of  active  minds,  industrious  habits,  and 
an  enterprising  character.  Some  of  them  should  possess  qualifica- 
tions greatly  superior  to  what  are  deemed  requisite  in  teachers  of 
common  schools ;  and  several  of  this  description,  and  of  both 
sexes,  are  urgently^needed  at  the  present  time.  Is  not  our  country 
able  to  furnish  them  ?  Should  not  every  eye  be  wakeful  till  they 
are  foimd  and  sent  forth  ? 

"  The  Committee  must  look  to  their  Christian  brethren  to  share 
with  them  the  responsibility  of  selecting  and  sending  forth  spiritual 
laborers.  It  is  a  matter  of  common  concern.  The  interests  of  the 
church  are  deeply  involved  in  it.  Missionaries,  though  self-moved, 
(or  rather  moved  by  love  to  the  souls  of  men,)  are  not  self-ap- 
pointed. It  is  not  meet  that  they  should  be.  It  would  not  be  ac- 
cording to  the  usage  of  the  primitive  church. 

"  To  conclude,  let  the  whole  body  of  the  faithful  importunately 
pray  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  to  send  forth  laborers  into  his  har- 
vest ; — men  whose  service  he  will  bless,  whose  character  he  will 
protect,  and  whose  fidelity  he  will  graciously  recompense  with  his 
decisive  benediction  at  the  final  day." 

The  intended  visit  of  Mr.  Evarts  to  the  Indian  missions  this 
year  was  prevented  by  the  urgency  of  other  engagements,  and 
one  of  his  associates  took  his  place  in  that  service.  "  I  have  re- 
peatedly informed  you,"  he  said  in  a  letter  to  Rev.  C.  Kingsbury, 
January  18,  "that  my  journey  was  prevented  by  the  exigencies 


^^ 


300  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

of  our  affairs  at  home.  I  have  to-day  written  a  few  lines  to  Mr. 
L.  S.  Williams.  I  do  not  know  but  some  of  my  words  may  give 
him  pain.  If  so,  you  must  comfort  him,  that  he  may  not  have 
sorrow  upon  sorrow.  The  fact  is,  I  feel  exceedingly  distressed  in 
regard  to  Indian  missions,  and  my  distress  and  anxiety  are  con- 
tinually increasing.  I  hope  affairs  may  be  so  ordered,  that  Mr. 
Williams  will  stay  at  the  place  where  he  is  now  stationed,  and  that 
he  will  gain  access  to  the  people,  and  do  them  good. 

*'  You  have  probably  received  from  Mr.  Varnum  the  various 
documents  on  Indian  subjects,  which  have  been  recently  printed 
by  Congress.  It  will  be  more  and  more  difficult  for  Indians  to 
live  in  the  old  States ;  in  Georgia,  for  instance  ;  and  whether 
they  can  find  any  resting-place  upon  this  continent,  remains  to  be 
seen.  The  great  obstacle  to  their  improvement  is  the  depravity 
of  the  heart.  If  they  would  all  receive  the  gospel,  renounce  all 
wickedness,  become  industrious  and  exemplary,  they  would  be 
safe,  notwithstanding  all  the  cupidity  and  injustice  of  the  whites. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  whites  were  entirely  and  only  benevo- 
lent ;  if  they  loved  their  neighbors  as  themselves,  and  were  wil- 
ling to  labor  hard  and  wait  patiently  for  the  reformation  of  their 
red  neighbors,  the  Indians  would  then  have  a  chance  for  them- 
selves;  and  even  if  they  rose  very  slowly,  they  might  still  rise  at 
last.  But  with  the  prevailing  depravity  of  both  classes,  I  see  no 
hope,  unless  it  shall  please  God  to  pour  out  his  Spirit  in  a  remark- 
able manner.  Here  the  matter  must  rest ;  and  unless  our  mis- 
sions shall  be  so  far  honored  as  to  introduce  the  gospel  in  its 
power  more  rapidly  than  hitherto,  I  see  not  but  the  object  must 
fail. 

"  Present  my  kind  regards  to  Col.  Folsom.*  I  pray  that  he 
may  give  his  heart  to  the  Lord,  and  be  made  an  instrument  of 
great  good  to  his  people.  I  did  hope  to  have  seen  him  and  you 
this  winter,  and  to  consult  and  pray  together  more  solemnly  than 
at  any  former  time.     But  the  matter  was  otherwise  ordered."     * 

Before  the  end  of  February,  he  was  again  on  his  way  to  Wash- 
ington. 

*  An  intelligent  Chief  of  the  Choctaw  nation. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  301 


TO    REV.    R.    ANDERSON. 

Philadelphia,  March  1,  1828. 

"I  spent  the  greater  part  of  Thursday  evening  at  Mr.  Lord's, 
in  conversation  upon  the  Extra  Effort  plan.  He  thinks  it  ex- 
tremely important  that  this  plan  should  succeed,  and  that  the  Pru- 
dential Committee  would  act  wisely  to  bend  their  efforts  very 
much  to  this  object.  He  sees  very  clearly  that  the  impulse  given 
in  New  York  has  produced  great  results.  To  this  impulse  can 
be  traced  most  directly  the  Bible  exertions  in  Pennsylvania,  and 
missionary  exertions  in  New  Jersey  ;  from  both  of  which  incalcu- 
lable good  will  proceed.  And  he  thinks  that,  if  the  original  plan 
should  be  carried  into  effect,  it  would  propagate  an  impulse  much 
farther  than  can  now  be  imagined  ;  whereas,  if  it  fails,  he  sup- 
poses that  the  subscribers  will  generally  decline  paying,  except  for 
the  first  year  ;  that  they  will  be  somewhat  disgusted  ;  and  that 
they  will  divert  their  energies  hereafter  into  another  channel. 

"  For  my  part,  I  have  no  doubt  that  a  great  advantage  would 
be  gained,  if  the  ^100,000  were  filled.  This  might  be  done, 
perhaps,  if  we  had  ten  such  agents  as  Mr.  King  and  ten  such  as 
Mr.  Bissell.  But  when  we  consider  that  about  five  months  have 
elapsed,  and  not  more  than  ^8,000  or  ^10,000  have  been  added 
to  the  subscription  of  the  first  evening,  it  must  appear  a  very  diffi- 
cult thing,  with  the  means  at  our  disposal,  even  to  get  the  sum  up 
to  ^50,000.  Mr.  Lord  seemed  to  suppose  that  our  Committee, 
by  making  a  serious  effort,  could  do  much,  if  they  were  not  able 
to  accomplish  the  whole.  One  thing  we  must  do  ;  and  that  is, 
write  a  suitable  letter  to  members  of  the  Board  and  honorary  mem- 
bers, with  a  view  to  their  exertions  in  the  six  months  to  come." 

In  fact,  Mr.  Evarts  found  reason  to  apprehend  unfavorable  re- 
sults from  the  Extra  Effort  upon  the  ordinary  sources  of  income; 
and  exerted  himself  to  prevent  it.  "  The  great  desideratum  every- 
where is,"  he  remarks,  "  a  sufficient  number  of  men  and  women 
who  lay  the  matter  to  heart,  and  will  spend  time  to  bring  the  sub- 
ject of  missions  before  all  the  people.  There  is  no  great  use  in 
foretelling  evil,  at  least,  in  many  cases  ;  but  1  shall  not  be  surprised, 
if  there  is  a  great  deficiency  in  the  ordinary  subscriptions  of  the 


302  LIFE  OF  EVARTS. 

city  of  New  York.  I  suggested  the  employment  of  a  suitable 
agent,  or  agents,  to  visit  the  several  associations  and  to  call  upon 
individuals." 


TO    REV.    R.    ANDERSON. 

Philadelphia,  March  3,  1S28. 

"  On  Saturday,  I  wrote  an  account  of  my  interview  with  Mr. 
Lord  ;  and  concluded,  I  think,  with  expressing  an  opinion  that 
we  could  hardly  hope  to  get  the  extra  subscription  up  to  ^50,000. 
Yet  I  am  far  from  thinking  it  best  to  stop  soliciting  for  that  object. 
If,  at  the  close  of  the  year,  but  half  the  original  sum  should  be 
obtained,  it  is  quite  probable  that  the  subscribers  would  continue 
the  time  for  receiving  subscriptions,  or  consent  to  its  extension,  if 
there  was  a  probability  that  it  could  be  carried  further  with  en- 
couraging prospects.  There  are  many  towns  in  our  country, 
where  from  ,|^500  to  ^1000  could  be  obtained  by  the  united  la- 
bors of  Mr.  King  and  Mr.  Kirk,  or  Mr.  Bissell  and  Mr.  Whiting. 
We  must  admit,  however,  that  there  will  be  danger  of  a  great  ebb, 
where  a  flood  may  have  been  raised  by  a  violent  wind  ;  or,  in 
plainer  language,  those  individuals  who  are  induced  to  subscribe 
by  a  sudden  movement  and  strong  pressure,  will  be  very  likely 
to  regret  what  they  have  done,  and  to  fall  into  a  complaining 
habit,  which  will  predispose  them  to  find  fault  with  the  Board  and 
its  missionaries.  In  this  way,  one  man  in  a  populous  town  may 
greatly  embarrass  missionary  operations  hereafter.  Though  I  have 
no  doubt  that  God  is  about  to  accomplish  much  by  Mr.  Bissell's 
^100,000  movement,  yet  by  some  of  its  consequences  we  may 
experience  much  trouble.  Let  us  avoid  as  much  of  it  as  we  can 
by  the  exercise  of  all  our  prudence,  and  patiently  take  the  rest  ; 
expecting  that  every  measure  which  we  adopt  will  be  liable  to 
inconveniencies. 

"  The  most  difficult  part  of  this  business  is,  to  know  what  to 
say  concerning  it  in  the  Missionary  Herald.  I  think  I  shall  write 
something  for  the  April  number." 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 


303 


TO    REV.    R.    ANDERSON. 

Washington,  D.  C,  March  11,  1828. 

"  We  had  in  our  coach  [from  Baltimore]  two  Quaker  men  and 
two  women  ;  one  of  them,  as  I  afterwards  ascertained,  was  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  Robson,  from  England,  a  famous  female  preacher.     We 

had  also  a  man  by  the  name    of ,  from  Buffalo,  who  took 

occasion  to  speak  against  missionaries,  in  very  severe  and  violent 
terms.  He  knew  all  about  them — and  all  about  the  Indians,  k,c. 
Before  the  missionaries  went  among  them,  the  Indians  were  the 
most  virtuous  and  honest  set  of  men  in  the  world  ;  now  they  were 
vicious  and  miserable. 

•'  I  felt  it  to  be  my  duty  to  silence  his  battery,  which  was  easily 
done.  I  discoursed  a  while  on  Major  Long's  account  of  the  In- 
dians— then  on  the  accounts  of  the  missionaries — urging  that  no 
missionary,  so  far  as  my  knowledge  extended,  had  been  proved 
mistaken  in  regard  to  facts  which  tended  to  develope  the  Indian 
character. 

"  He  then  went  upon  Mr. ,  and  the  treatment  which  he 

had  received  from  the  other  missionaries.     I  regretted  the  case  of 

Mr. ;  and  added  that  I  was  not  aware  that  he   had  made 

erroneous  statements  as  to  the  Indian  character  and  condition. 

"  My  opponent  now  shifted  his  ground.  He  knew  Mr.  Harris 
very  well,  and  Mr.  Harris  was  a  very  good  man.  The  mission- 
aries were  good  men  :  the  difficulties  in  regard  to  them  were,  that 
they  thought  nobody  would  be  saved  but  themselves  ;  they  con- 
demned other  people ;  they  had  no  charity.  For  his  part,  he  had 
charity  for  all. 

"  I  asked  him  what  he  had  said  just  before,  respectino-  the 
character  of  missionaries  generally  ;  and  requested  him  to  repeat 
it,  as  I  thought  the  company  would  like  to  hear  it  again. 

"  This  was  an  effectual  damper.  He  afterwards  became  very 
obsequious.  1  yesterday  met  him  in  the  street,  and  he  was  ex- 
tremely polite,  and  wished  to  carry  anything  for  me  which  I  wish 
to  send  to  Buffalo.     I  shall  contrive  to  send  something  by  him. 

"  The  Quakers  and  an  intelligent  young  gentleman  from  Phil- 
adelphia spoke  to  me  privately  afterwards   on   the  ignorance  and 


304  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

presumption  of  the  man.     He  was,  however,  a  fair  specimen  of 
the  opposers  of  missions,  and  knew  more  than  most  of  them. 

"  I  was  happy  to  learn  from  Mr.  Post,  that  he  had  invited  sev- 
eral members  of  Congress,  who  were  professors  of  religion,  to 
meet  at  his  house  every  Thursday  evening  for  religious  conversa- 
tion and  prayer.  Several  such  meetings  had  been  held.  Not 
more  than  three  gentlemen,  1  believe  had  been  together — though 
perhaps  half  a  dozen  in  the  whole  have  attended." 

TO    REV.    R.    ANDERSON. 

Washington,  D.  C,  March  11. 

"  Friday,  March  7.  After  the  call  of  Capt.  Jones  was  over,* 
who  should  enter  the  room  but  David  Brown.  He  told  me  that 
he  had  addressed  me  a  letter,  and  of  course  you  know  that  he  is 
here.  He  probably  stated  in  that  letter  that  he  is  secretary  of  the 
Arkansas  delegates,  who  are  engaged  in  business  respecting  their 
limits,  &;c.  I  never  saw  him  look  better.  The  same  pleasant 
smile  plays  on  his  countenance.  He  was  very  tastefully  dressed, 
and  his  figure  has  rather  gained  in  ease  and  gracefulness.  He  left 
the  Arkansas  country  in  the  fall — Creekpath  the  last  of  January, 
and  has  been  here  a  fortnight. 

"  P.  M.  Went  to  the  Capitol  at  4.  Heard  Mr.  Randolph 
about  an  hour.  The  question  was  on  Mr.  Oakley's  amendments 
to  the  appropriation  for  surveys,  &c.  You  could  not  guess  any- 
thing about  the  subject,  however,  from  the  speech.  It  was  a 
curious  exhibition  of  the  vagaries  to  which  the  human  mind  is 
liable.  Mr.  Randolph  has  been  greatly  flattered  of  late,  espe- 
cially in  regard  to  his  last  speech  on  Chilton's  resolutions  of 
which  speech,  as  revised  by  himself  with  great  care,  the  opposi- 
tion members  have  distributed  thirty  thousand  copies. 

*'  Among  the  topics  which  I  heard  this  afternoon  from  him, 
were  the  character  of  Hume  as  a  historian, — the  evils  of  gentility, 
or  extravagant  living, — the  necessity  of  working  hard  and  prac- 
tising rigid  economy — the  evils  of  our  paper   money  system — the 

*  Capt.  Thomas  Ap  Catesby  Jones,  of  the  United  States  Navy,  who  had  visited  the 
Sandwich  Islands  a  few  months  after  Lieut.  Percival,  and  whose  conduct  while  there 
had  been  highly  gratifying  to  the  friends  of  missions,  and  honorable  to  himself  and  his 
country. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS  3O5 

character  of  two  Virginia  judges — one  a  drunkard,  the  other  a 
bankrupt — analysis  and  criticism  of  one  of  Horace's  odes,  with  a 
long  quotation  from  it — comparison  of  Herodotus  and  Polybius  as 
historians — quotation  from  one  of  his  own  speeches,  delivered  in 
1808 — account  of  his  own  fortune,  management  of  his  estate,  and 
self-denial — tribute  to  hard-working  men — description  of  his  near- 
est neighbor  in  Virginia — and  a  recommendation  to  members  of 
Congress  to  go  home  immediately.  He  had  an  exhortation  to  this 
effect :  '  The  man  who  is  determined  to  be  independent,  will  not 
make  long  faces,  raise  his  eyes  to  heaven,  and  go  canting  and 
whining  about,  that  he  may  become  attached  to  some  missionary 
society  or  colonization  society.' 

"  Saturday,  March  8.  Soon  after  breakfast,  went  to  William- 
son's, where  the  Arkansas  delegation  are.  Was  there  introduced 
to  Graves,  John  Rogers,  James  Rogers,  Black  Fox,  and  George 
Guess.  I  believe  there  are  some  others  belonging  to  the  company. 
I  may  hereafter  describe  them  all.  In  Guess  I  felt  a  peculiar  in- 
terest. He  is  very  modest  in  appearance,  a  man  about  fifty 
years  old,  dressed  in  the  costume  of  the  country — that  is,  a  hunt- 
ing-frock, pantaloons,  moccasins,  and  a  handkerchief  tied  around 
the  head.  The  others  were  dressed  as  well,  and  appeared  in  every 
respect  as  well,  as  members  of  Congress  generally.  The  Rogerses 
speak  good  English ;  but  Graves,  Black  Fox,  and  Guess,  spoke 
in  Cherokee  only.  I  asked  Guess,  by  David  as  an  interpreter,  to 
tell  me  what  induced  him  to  form  an  alphabet,  and  how  he  pro- 
ceeded in  doing  it  ? 

"  Guess  replied,  that  he  had  observed  that  many  things  were 
found  out  by  men,  and  known  in  the  world ;  but  that  this  knowl- 
edge escaped  and  was  lost  for  want  of  some  way  to  preserve  it ; 
that  he  had  observed  white  people  write  things  on  paper,  and  he 
had  seen  books,  and  he  knew  that  what  was  written  down  re- 
mained and  was  not  forgotten  ;  that  he  attempted,  therefore,  to 
fix  certain  marks  for  sounds  ;  that  he  thought,  if  he  could  make 
things  fast  on  the  paper,  it  would  be  like  catching  a  wild  animal 
and  taming  it;  that  he  found  great  difficulty  in  proceeding  with 
his  alphabet,  as  he  forgot  the  sounds  which  he  had  assigned  to 
marks ;  that  he  was  much  puzzled  about  a  character  for  the  hiss- 
ing sound  ;  (I  suppose  his  meaning  was,  that  he  had  much  difficulty 
39 


306  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

to  ascertain  whether  s  should  be  a  separate  syllable,  and  have  a 
separate  character  or  not ;)  that  when  this  point  was  settled,  he 
proceeded  easily  and  rapidly  ;  that  his  alphabet  cost  him  a  month's 
study  ;  and  that  he  afterwards  made  an  alphabet  for  the  pen  ;  that 
is,  for  speedy  writing  ;  the  characters  of  which  he  wrote  under 
the  corresponding  characters  of  the  other.  The  two  alphabets 
have  no  great  resemblance  to  each  other.* 

"  Wednesday,  12.  Yesterday  read  Mr.  McLean's  speech  in 
the  House  of  Representatives,  and  to-day  Mr.  Vinton's,  on  the 
emigration  of  the  Indians.  I  am  more  and  more  in  doubt  respect- 
ing that  measure  ;  and  have  made  up  my  mind  to  advise  members 
against  it,  unless  Congress  first  adopt  a  definite  plan,  and  embody 
it  in  the  form  of  a  law,  which  would  be  a  guaranty  none  too  strong 
for  the  poor  Indians. 

"March  13.  I  called  on  Mr.  Bates,  and  conversed  with  him 
long  on  the  Indian  subject — having  made  up  my  mind  decisively, 
that  Congress  ought  not  to  take  any  step  towards  the  removal  of 
the  Indians,  till  they  fix  upon  a  definite  plan  of  proceeding,  and 
give  all  the  pledges  which  can  be  afforded  by  a  law  that  the  plan 
shall  be  pursued.  This  they  will  not  do  the  present  session  ;  and 
therefore  I  think  they  should  make  no  appropriation  to  defray  the 
expense  of  exploring. 

"15.  I  thought  it  my  duty  to  urge  upon  Mr.  V.,  as  I  have 
upon  other  members,  the  impropriety  of  leading  the  Indians  for- 
ward in  the  dark — of  making  to  them  vague  promises  of  uncertain 
good,  before  a  definite  plan  is  fixed  upon  for  their  benefit, — a  plan 
which  has  been  thoroughly  examined,  and  has  received  the  delib- 
erate sanction  of  all  the  branches  of  the  Government. 


*  The  alphabet  of  Guess,  considering  its  origin,  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
achievements  of  the  human  mind.  It  appears  that  he  began  by  attempting  to  make  a 
character  for  every  word.  Finding  that  in  this  way  his  memory  became  overburdened 
with  the  number,  he  began  to  analyze  the  words,  and  to  notice  that  the  same  character 
would  answer  for  parts  of  many  words.  Every  syllable  in  the  Cherokee  language  is 
either  a  simple  vowel  sound,  or  a  vowel  preceded  by  a  consonant.  The  vowel  sounds 
are  six;  the  consonants,  simple  and  compound,  twelve;  the  syllables  resulting  from 
their  combination,  seventy-two  ;  by  certain  modifications  of  a  few  of  these  syllables 
several  others  are  formed,  making  eighty-five  in  all.  For  each,  Guess  formed  a  char- 
acter ;  so  that  the  alphabet  consists  of  eighty-five  letters,  each  representing  a  syllable, 
— ^justas  the  letters  F  I  K  C,  rapidly  pronounced,  give  the  syllablesof  the  word  I'^racy. 
Of  course,  when  these  characters  are  mastered,  the  pupil  has  learned  to  read  ;  which 
is  usually  done  ia  two  or  three  days. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  307 

"March  21.  The  measures  for  the  removal  of  the  Indians 
will  drag  heavily  in  Congress  ;  but  the  ignorance,  perverseness, 
and  vices  of  the  Indians  themselves,  painful  as  the  prospect  is, 
must  destroy  them,  all  but  a  remnant.  No  doubt  the  injustice, 
rapacity,  and  hard-heartedness  of  the  whites  will  bring  them  in 
for  a  share  in  the  ruin.  To  judge  differently  would  be  to  imitate 
the  false  prophet,  who  cried  Peace,  pence,  when  there  was  no 
peace.     We  must  strive  to  make  the  remnant  as  large  as  we  can." 

*T0    REV.    C.    WASHBURN. 

Washington,  March  29,  1828. 

"  The  time  has  nearly  arrived  for  Mr.  Kingsbury  and  Mr. 
Greene  to  leave  the  Choctaw  nation  ;  and  before  this  comes  to 
hand,  I  hope  they  will  be  with  you  ;  and  I  shall  have  them  espe- 
cially in  view  in  what  I  now  write. 

"  There  are  two  classes  of  subjects  to  which  we  wish  all  your 
minds  to  be  directed.  1.  Those  which  relate  to  the  immigration 
of  the  Indians  west  of  the  Mississippi.  2.  Those  which  relate  to 
the  establishment  of  missions  which  shall  be  efficient,  and  which 
shall  be  conducted  at  a  small  expense. 

"  As  to  the  removal  of  the  Indians,  we  wish  to  receive  a  satis- 
factory answer  to  the  following  inquiries.  Can  any  land  be 
found,  west  of  the  Mississippi,  beyond  the  limits  of  the  States 
and  territories,  which  will  be  satisfactory  to  the  Indians  ?  Will 
the  Indians,  after  their  removal,  be  more  beyond  the  influence  of 
the  whites  than  they  are  now  ?  Will  not  their  white  neighbors 
be  worse  men,  and  more  lawless,  than  their  present  neighbors 
are  ?  Must  not  their  country  be  intersected  by  roads  for  the  ac- 
commodation of  whites,  which  would  of  course  expose  the  natives 
to  all  sorts  of  contamination  ?  Would  not  the  Indians  be  de- 
pressed and  dispirited  by  a  strict  supervision  under  white  rulers  ? 

"  On  the  second  head, — on  the  best  method  of  conducting  mis- 
sions among  the  Indians  : 

"  Our  Committee  have  long  been  fixed  in  the  conclusion,  that 
more  invention  must  be  applied  to  bringing  all  the  faculties  of  mis- 
sionaries to  bear  upon  the  religious  culture  of  the  natives.  By 
bringing  all  the  faculties  to  bear,  I  mean,  that  there  should  be  as 
little  time  spent  upon  temporals,  as  a  proper  regard  to  health  and 


308  LIFE  OF  EVARTS. 

decency  will  permit.  We  think  we  must  arrive  at  such  a  state  of 
improvement  that  a  small  mission  family,  consisting  of  a  mission- 
ary, his  wife,  and  a  few  small  children,  will  live  comfortably  on 
an  allowance  of  from  ^'150  to  ^250  a  year,  including  every  ex- 
pense, except  what  is  derived  from  a  little  farm  and  garden  ;  and 
that  the  missionary  should  have  one  half  or  two  thirds  of  his  time 
for  spiritual  labors. 

"  Should  it  be  asked  whether  it  would  not  be  better  economy 
to  increase  the  allowance  to  from  ^300  to  ,^'500  ;  and  let  the 
missionary  apply  his  whole  time  to  his  appropriate  work  ? — I  an- 
swer that,  so  far  as  our  experience  goes,  we  do  not  think  there  is 
any  way  of  securing  a  missionary's  whole  time  to  spiritual  labor. 
Certainly  there  is  no  way,  if  he  lives  alone.  Money  will  not  do 
it.  Besides,  two  missionaries,  devoting  half  their  time  vigorously 
and  faithfully  to  spiritual  labor,  and  the  rest  to  the  secular  work 
of  their  station,  would  do  more  good  than  one  missionary,  devoting 
his  whole  time,  were  that  practicable.  As  an  inducement  to 
economy  in  our  Indian  missions,  let  it  be  considered  that  less  than 
^100  a  year  will  enable  a  young  man  to  obtain  an  education  for 
the  ministry;  that  ^50  a  year  will  enable  many  a  young  man  to 
go  through  college,  who  would  not  otherwise  do  it;  that  ^25  a 
year,  in  money,  will  keep  a  student  in  the  Maryville  Seminary  ; 
that  .^100  a  year  will  enable  many  congregations  to  settle  minis- 
ters, where  it  would  not  otherwise  be  done,  and  where  there  are 
500,  1,000,  or  1,500  souls  to  be  benefitted  by  his  labors. 

"  I  am  aware  that  exhortations  to  economy  sometimes  appear 
to  savor  of  a  secular  spirit.  But,  unless  we  are  deceived,  we  urge 
to  this  duty  from  a  regard  to  the  souls  of  men.  The  money  which 
is  raised  from  the  Christian  public,  is  given  from  religious  consid- 
erations. Half  our  time  and  care  and  anxiety  at  the  Rooms  is 
expended  upon  raising  funds  ;  and  we  are  at  this  moment  more 
than  ^40,000  in  debt.  Ought  we  not  to  urge  economy  as  an 
imperious  religious  duty  ? 

"  May  the  Lord  give  us  wisdom  and  fidelity,  for  his  name's 
sake." 

Mr.  Evarts  remained  in  Washington  till  the  10th  of  April. 
A  principal  object  of  this  visit  was  to  secure  adequate  protection 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  309 

for  the  mission  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  against  such  outrages  as 
those  of  Capt.  Percival,  which  have  been  already  mentioned.  It 
was  a  subject  that  required  the  exercise  of  great  tact  and  judg- 
ment, in  personal  intercourse  with  official  persons,  and  in  the  pre- 
paration of  papers  and  other  arrangements.  It  occupied  much  of 
his  time  during  the  year,  and  even  into  1829,  Although  the  re- 
sult was  not  in  all  respects  such  as  to  meet  his  views  of  the  de- 
mands of  public  justice,  the  leading  object  was  fully  accomplished.* 
The  next  year  the  United  States  Ship  Vincennes  was  sent  to  the 
Islands,!  to  repair  the  mischief  that  had  been  done  ;  and  the 
friends  of  missions  have  since  had  no  reason  to  complain  of  the 
treatment  received  by  them,  or  by  the  native  authorities,  from  the 
government  of  the  United  States  or  persons  connected  with  our 
navy.  As  long  as  the  result  was  doubtful,  he  continued  to  put 
forth  every  judicious  effort  to  secure  the  punishment  of  the  guilty, 
and  to  bring  the  facts  before  the  public  in  their  proper  light,  so 
far  as  decency  would  permit  their  publication.  In  this,  as  in  all 
similar  cases,    he  relied   very  much  on  public  opinion,  and  the 

*  Of  this  trial  and  the  result,  Mr.  Evarts  prepared  an  account  for  the  Annual  Re- 
port of  1S2S.  "  The  court,"  he  says,  "occupied  twenty-six  days  in  examining  wit- 
nesses and  taking  down  their  testimony.  The  Prudential  Committee  were  allowed  to 
be  present,  and  to  propose  questions  to  witnesses,  by  an  agent  whom  they  employed 
as  legal  counsel  for  that  purpose.  They  took  fall  notes  of  the  evidence,  and  copies  of 
nearly  all  the  depositions  ;  the  import  and  bearing  of  which,  however,  it  is  not  thought 
proper  to  disclose  at  present. 

"  About  the  middle  of  June,  the  proceedings  of  the  court  were  transmitted  to  the 
navy  department ;  but  what  the  decision  was,  and  how  far  the  proceedings  are  ap- 
proved by  the  President,  the  Committee  are  not  able  to  state,  as  nothing,  so  far  as 
they  know,  has  transpired  on  the  subject.  No  agent  having  been  sent  to  the  Islands 
to  authenticate  written  evidence,  and  the  letters  and  statements  of  missionaries  and 
others,  however  worthy  of  confidence,  not  being  legally  admissible,  it  could  not  be 
expected  that  a  full  developement  could  be  made,  at  the  distance  of  many  thousand 
miles  from  the  scene  of  these  transactions. 

"  In  the  present  state  of  the  proceedings,  it  is  not  deemed  expedient  to  intimate  how 
much  was  proved  under  the  several  charges  brought  before  the  court,  further  than  to 
say  that  enough  appeared  to  justify  the  Committee  and  the  Board  for  preferring  and 
sustaining  their  complaints,  and  the  government  for  making  the  investigation." 

Though  repeated  inquiries  were  made  of  the  government  during  the  next  year  and 
a  half,  no  definite  answer  was  received.  Neither  the  result  of  the  investigation  by  the 
Court  of  Inquiry,  nor  the  decision  of  the  President  upon  it,  has  since  been  made  public. 

t  Under  the  command  of  Captain  William  Bolton  Finch,  with  Rev.  C.  S.  Stewart, 
lately  missionary  at  the  Islands,  and  well  known  and  esteemed  by  the  chiefs,  as  chap- 
lain, and  bearing  presents  from  the  government,  and  all  desirable  official  assurances  of 
sympathy  and  countenance  in  every  effort  to  promote  civihzation,  good  morals,  and 
religion,  among  the  people. 


310  LIFE    OF  EVARTS. 

power  of  the  press.  Placing  the  missionaries  and  their  friends 
before  the  community  on  the  ground  of  justice,  purity,  and  virtue, 
and  as  the  friends  of  the  ignorant  and  defenceless,  he  relied 
strongly  on  the  righteous  verdict  of  the  people,  and  on  the  power 
of  that  verdict  to  afford  adequate  protection,  even  should  law  fail 
to  accomplish  its  proper  end,  as  a  terror  to  evil  doers.  And  he 
triumphed.  This  struggle  it  was  that  proved  to  the  world,  that 
even  the  islands  of  the  Pacific  were  not  beyond  the  reach  of  a 
righteous  public  opinion  at  home  ;  and  that  he  who  would  escape 
infamy  in  the  United  States  and  in  England,  must  beware  of 
infamous  deeds  at  Honolulu,  no  less  than  in  New  York  and  in 
London.* 

Not  sure  how  soon  the  victory  might  be  achieved,  he  sought  to 
prepare  those  who  acted  with  him  to  persevere  to  the  end.  To 
the  missionaries  at  the  Islands,  he  held  the  following  language : 

TO    THE    SANDWICH    ISLANDS    MISSIONARIES. 

Boston,  July  28, 1828. 

"  This  controversy  with  abandoned  foreigners  must  be  con- 
tinued till  it  is  brought  to  a  happy  close.  We  cannot  retreat. 
Vicious  men  must  feel  at  the  Sandwich  Islands,  as  well  as  here, 
that  they  cannot  publicly  violate  the  decencies  of  life  without 
danger  of  exposure.  In  this  way,  and  with  a  concurrent  blessing 
of  God  upon  your  evangelical  labors,  public  vice  may  be  restrain- 
ed ;  but  it  is  contrary  to  all  experience,  that  the  Christian  religion 
should  gain  a  permanent  influence  over  the  mass  of  the  people,  if 
vice  is  shameles.sly  predominant  in  all  the  seaports  and  principal 
places.  This  struggle  with  vice  at  Honolulu  and  Lahaina,  is 
really  a  struggle  for  the  existence  of  your  mission.  I  fully  be- 
lieve that  the  external  character,  at  least,  of  the  residents  must  be 
improved,  or  they  must  leave  the  Islands,  or  the  missionaries  will 
be  deprived  of  all  influence,  and  a  most  portentous  cloud  will 
overshadow  them  and  their  labors. 

"  It  is  not  probable  that  any  of  the  missionaries  will  lose  their 
lives   by  the   violence  of  opposers  ;  but  if  they  should  be  called 

*  Mr.  Evarts  took  care  to  have  the  conduct  of  abandoned  masters  of  British  vessels 
at  the  Islands;  properly  represented  in  London. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  311 

to  this  trial,  it  ought  to  be  met  calmly,  and  even  joyfully,  in  com- 
parison to  yielding  to  the  unreasonable  desires  of  wicked  men. 
Indeed,  I  scarcely  know  any  situation  in  which  a  good  man  would 
sooner  die  by  violent  hands,  than  the  very  one  which  the  Sand- 
wich Islands  missionaries  are  called  to  occupy. 

"  I  would  inculcate  feelings  of  the  most  tender  compassion  to- 
wards the  unhappy  men  who,  notwithstanding  divine  truth,  are 
hardening  themselves  in  sin.  Pray  for  them  earnestly  and  affec- 
tionately, and  admonish  them  kindly.  Perad venture  God  may 
bring  them  to  repentance  and  to  obedience  of  the  truth." 

To  his  associates  and   the  public  at  home  he  said  : — 

"  Private  scandal  is  not  to  be  encouraged,  and  no  unnecessary 
publicity  should  be  given  to  secret  sins  ;  but  when  individuals 
come  forth  as  the  public  champions  of  vice  ;  when  they  insist  on 
the  privilege  of  openly  trampling  on  laws  made  by  natives  for  the 
promotion  of  the  public  morals  ;  when  they  express  a  determina- 
tion to  pursue  such  a  course  as  will  tend  to  the  utter  subversion 
of  religion,  and  to  the  ruin,  temporal  and  eternal,  of  all  who  can 
be  brought  wit^hin  the  vortex  of  their  criminal  design  and  their 
base  example ;  it  is  not  only  proper,  but  indispensable,  that  the 
real  state  of  things  should  be  exposed.  There  is  no  reason  why 
it  should  not  be  fully  understood  at  the  Sandwich  Islands,  that 
the  public  conduct  of  foreigners,  not  only  .may  be  lawfully,  but 
that  it  shall  be^  effectually,  made  public  in  Great  Britain  and 
America,  and  consequently  wherever  civilized  men  are  to  be 
found.  Such  part  of  this  public  conduct  as  tends  to  the  promo- 
tion of  peace,  industry,  morality,  knowledge,  and  true  religion, 
will  receive  the  hearty  commendation  of  all  men  whose  praise  is 
of  any  value  ;  and  all  that  power  of  influence  and  example 
which  tends  to  depress  those  who  are  beginning  to  rise,  and  to 
sink  deeper  in  guilt  and  shame  those  who  have  never  felt  any 
moral  restraints,  will  surely  bring  with  it  that  punishment  inflicted 
by  many,  that  public  reproach  and  odium,  which  even  the  most 
abandoned  must  perceive  to  be  just,  and  which  few  indeed  are  so 
hardened  as  not  to  feel. 


312  LIFE   OF   EVARTS. 

"  At  this  age  of  the  world,  it  is  hardly  to  be  supposed,  what- 
ever may  be  threatened,  that  a  missionary  will  be  murdered  by  his 
countrymen,  or  by  others  who  speak  the  same  language,  merely 
because  he  has  felt  obliged,  in  the  course  of  his  duty,  to  publish 
unwelcome  truths.  If  this  should  be  the  case,  it  would  be  a  great 
calamity  ;  and  it  would  be  lamented  especially,  on  account  of 
the  guilt  in  which  it  would  involve  the  perpetrators,  and  all  who 
encouraged  them,  or  inflamed  their  passions.  But  even  such  an 
event,  however  deplorable,  might  be  overruled  for  the  promotion 
of  the  missionary  cause.  It  would  attract  the  notice  of  Europe 
and  America,  as  did  the  death  of  the  missionary  S.mith  ;  and  it 
would  compel  investigations,  on  the  part  of  public  authorities, 
which  could  not  but  issue  favorably.  There  is  no  alternative  so 
bad,  as  that  Satan  and  his  adherents  should  be  led  to  think  that 
they  are  more  powerful  than  the  friends  of  God  ;  and  that  what- 
ever abominations  may  be  committed,  silence  respecting  them 
may  be  enforced  upon  missionaries,  and  missionary  societies,  and 
the  Christian  world." 

In  the  course  of  the  summer,  the  particulars  of  fresh  outrages 
at  the  Islands  were  received  ;  some  of  them  occasioned  by  the 
publication,  in  this  country,  of  letters  from  the  missionaries,  in 
which  too  much  truth  was  told  to  suit  the  purposes  of  those  who 
loved  darkness  rather  than  light,  because  their  deeds  were  evil. 
In  accordance  with  the  convictions  above  expressed,  Mr.  Evarts 
did  not  fail  to  make  the  facts  fully  known,  to  the  extent  of  his 
power,  with  appropriate  comments.  The  conflict  was  ended. 
The  missionaries  of  the  Board,  in  whatever  distant  and  obscure 
spot  they  might  serve  their  Lord,  were  effectually  brought  under 
the  protecting  shield  of  public  opinion  and  national  honor.  It  is 
not  probable  that  the  missionaries,  officers,  and  friends  of  the 
Board  will  ever  again  be  called  to  endure  the  anguish  and  toil  of 
that  trying  time.  The  exertions  of  Mr.  Evarts,  together  with  his 
sympathy  for  the  sufferers  and  his  anxiety  for  the  results,  com- 
bined with  other  causes  to  make  these  among  the  most  laborious 
months  of  his  life.* 

*  For  a  full  account  of  the  painful  occurrences  here  alluded  to,  see  the  Missionary 
Herald  and  Report  of  the  Board  for  1827,  1628;  and  History  of  American  Board, 
pp.  161—3 ;  174—8. 


LIFE   OF   EVARTS. 


313 


The  question  of  the  removal  of  the  Indians,  also,  was  daily- 
coming  to  occupy  more  of  his  thoughts  and  time  ;  and  he  endea- 
vored, while  at  Washington,  to  prepare  himself  for  any  duty 
relating  to  it,  that  might  devolve  upon  him.  The  alphabet  of 
Guess  had  given  a  new  and  extraordinary  impulse  to  education 
among  the  Cherokees,  who  were  making  rapid  advances  in  all  the 
arts  of  civilized  life  ;  and  they  were  now  living  under  a  written 
constitution  of  government,  and  had  a  newspaper  and  numerous 
books,  printed  in  their  own  language  and  their  own  alphabet. 
Thus  every  day  they  were  appealing  more  strongly  for  sympathy 
and  protection,  while  the  threatening  dangers  gathered  blackness 
in  proportion. 

After  his  return,  Mr.  Evarts  did  little  more   than   to  pass  at 
home  the  busy  season  of  the  religious  anniversaries,  and  attend  to 
urgent  and  harassing  official   duties  connected   with  the  trial  of 
Lieutenant   Percival,  when    we  find   him  again   away  on   an  ex- 
cursion to  Vermont,   attending  the  meetings  of  auxiliaries,   con- 
sulting with  the   friends  of  the  cause  and  with  candidates  for  mis- 
sionary   employment,   and    endeavoring    to  devise   and  put  into 
operation    measures   that   should  secure  the  increased  efficiency  of 
the  recently  organized  associations.     Everywhere  he  saw  the  need 
of  some  active  agency   to  keep  the  subject  properly  before  the 
Christian  public,   and  to  secure  the  regular  contributions  even  of 
those  who  called  themselves  friends  of  the  cause.     "  Experience," 
he  writes,  "  while  it  proves  the  present  system  by  far  the  best  that 
has  been  tried,  makes  it  very  evident  that,  with  the  immense  ma- 
jority of  contributors,   the  whole  business  would   fall  absolutely 
dead  without  an  inquiry,  if  they  were  left  to  their  own  movements. 
If  the    whole  missionary  cause  were  dead,  they  would  probably 
express  some  very  loud  regrets  ;  but  as  to  any  efforts  to  resuscitate 
it,  they  could  not  be  expected  from  this  class  of  friends.     Indeed  it 
cannot  be  denied,  as  one  of  the  speakers  at  Pawlet  suggested,  '  that 
very  few  can  be  found  who  would  not  gladly  be  passed  over  by 
the  collectors  ;  or  who,  if  not  applied  to,   would  of  themselves 
seek  the  channel  of  communication,  so  that  their  money  might  be 
seasonably  transmitted. '  All  this  evinces  a  very  imperfect  state  of 
things  among  Christians." 
40 


314  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

"  July  4.  Burlington.  The  two  parties  had  separate  celebra- 
tions. A  great  multitude  was  assembled  ;  and  there  was  much 
noise,  drinking,  and  swearing.  The  injury  done  to  public  morals 
by  the  celebration  of  the  Fourth  of  July  is  incalculable.  Take 
the  whole  United  States,  and  the  amount  of  wickedness  perpetrat- 
ed on  that  day  is  frightful." 

During  this  season,  a  Greek  youth  at  Yale  College,  who  was 
under  his  official  guardianship,  becanie  implicated  in  a  College 
difficulty.  His  kind  and  judicious  letter  on  the  occasion  deserves 
a  place  here,  for  the  sake  of  young  men  in  like  circumstances : 

TO    S.    G.,    YALE    COLLEGE. 

Boston,  August  6, 1S29. 

"  I  learn  by  a  letter  from  Judge  Baldwin,  that  you  and  your 
countryman  became  somewhat  involved  in  the  late  difficulty 
among  the  students.  Considering  how  universal  the  combination 
was  among  your  classmates,  it  is  not  strange  that  you  were  carried 
away  with  it.  But  you  must  learn  a  lesson  by  this  history,  and  not 
get  into  the  same  difficulty  a  second  time. 

"  Combinations  are  always  wrong.  If  any  real  grievance  is 
experienced  by  students,  it  can  be  redressed  by  stating  facts 
and  making  application  in  a  respectful  manner.  Majorities  of 
classes  have  no  right  to  prescribe  what  all  their  fellow  students 
shall  do.  The  attempt  is  a  flagrant  violation  of  the  rights  of  mi- 
norities. Every  student  should  be  left  to  act  according  to  his 
own  judgment,  without  reference  to  the  wishes  of  others. 

"  There  are  none  of  the  students  who  ought  to  avoid  rash  and 
hasty  measures  with  more  care  and  caution,  than  yourselves.  You 
should  remember  that  Greece  is  more  exposed  to  the  evils  of  an- 
archy, as  resulting  from  violent  party  measures,  than  to  all  other 
evils  combined. 

"We  hope  the  troops  of  Ibrahim  will  be  soon  removed  ;  but, 
unless  the  people  can  learn  to  be  deliberate,  patient,  and  submissive 
to  just  authority,  their  liberty  will  avail  them  nothing.  They  will 
be  a  prey  to  endless  dissensions,  if  they  follow  hasty  leaders,  on 
the  impulse  given  by  inflammatory  speeches. 


LIFE  OF  EVARTS.  315 

'<  Let  me  inlreat  yon,  therefore,  not  to  yield  in  future  to  any 
combination  of  students  wiiatever.  If  necessary,  you  can  plead 
that,  being  foreigners,  you  are  non-combatants  ;  but  it  will  be  quite 
as  well  to  protest  against  the  right  of  your  fellow  students  to  pre- 
scribe laws  for  each  other." 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  Board  this  year  was  held  at  Phila- 
delphia, where  he  again  endeavored,  by  a  statement  of  facts  and 
an  appeal  to  acknowledged  Christian  principles,  to  impress  upon  all 
the  duty  of  giving  to  the  cause  of  missions  a  regular  and  sys- 
tematic  support. 

"  The  efforts  made  by  Christians,  within  the  last  thirty  years,  to 
send  the  Gospel  into  the  dark  places  of  the  earth,  have  left  a  deep 
impression  extensively  upon  the  minds  of  reflecting  men,  that  the 
following  positions  are  unquestionable  :  viz. 

"  'IHiat  the  state  of  the  heathen  nations  is  now  substantially  the 
same  as  it  was  in  the  days  of  the  Apostles ; — 

"  That,  in  many  countries  called  Christian,  the  inventions  of 
men  and  tlie  accumulated  superstitions  of  ignorant  and  corrupt 
a<?es  have  utterly  eclipsed  the  light  of  revelation,  and  reduced 
millions  of  souls  very  nearly  to  the  level  of  absolute  paganism; — 
"  That,  reckoning  heathens,  Mohammedans,  and  the  ignorant  and 
superstitious  in  countries  nominally  Christian,  we  cannot  avoid  the 
conclusion,  that  more  than  nine  tenths  of  the  human  race  are 
without  any  correct  knowledge  of  God  and  his  government,  any- 
just  views  of  sin,  or  any  true  apprehension  of  ihe  way  of  salva- 
tion ; — 

"  That  the  Gospel  affords  the  only  adequate  relief  for  the  tem- 
poral, as  well  as  for  the  spiritual  wants  of  men  ; — 

"  That  before  it  can  afford  this  relief,  it  must  be  preached,  under- 
stood, and  obeyed ; — 

"  That,  wherever  the  Gospel  is  preached  in  simplicity  and  with 
persevering  fidelity,  it  is  proved  to  be  the  power  of  God  and  ihe 
wisdom  of  God,  in  some  who  believe  ; — 

"  That,  in  the  fulfilment  of  the  divine  promises,  God  has  shown 
himself  willing  to  accompany  the  labors  of  his  servants  with  the 
renewing  and  sanctifying  influences  of  his  Spirit;  and 

"  Thai  there  is  ample  encouragement  to  multiply  faithful  teach- 
ers, and  send  then:i  to  every  land,  in  expectation  of  a  glorious  ad- 
vance of  truth  and  holiness,  which  shall  reach  all  the  nations,  and 
bring  men  universally  to  rejoice  in  the  salvation  of  Christ. 

"Though  these  positions  are  fully  admitted  to  be  true,  a  very  small 
number  of  individuals  are  found,  who  are  willing  to  carry  them 
out  into  all  their  practical  consequences.  Nothing  can  be  clearer, 
than  that  men  are  bound  to  make  exertions  for  the  benefit  of  their 
fellow  men,  in  proportion  to  their  own  ability,  and  the  magnitude 
of  the  blessings  which  they  endeavor  to  communicate.    And  when 


316  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

these  blessings  are  inconceivably  great,  and  the  probability  that 
they  may  be  coramunicaled  is  strong,  we  are  bound  by  the  general 
law  of  benevolence,  if  there  were  no  express  command  on  ihe 
subject,  to  make  vigorous,  cheerful,  and  long  continued  exertions, 
that  there  may  be  no  failure  on  our  part,  in  the  great  and  holy  work 
of  bringing  penitent  sinners  home  to  God.  It  is  too  plain  for  argu- 
ment, that  every  professed  follower  of  Christ  is  bound  by  his  pro- 
fession, taken  in  any  intelligible  sense,  to  do  something  for  the 
common  cause  of  religion  ;  and  every  well  instructed  Christian, 
who  thinks  he  knows  experimentally  the  value  of  the  Gospel, 
cannot  consistently  do  less  than  devote  a  suitable  and  a  worthy 
portion  of  his  time  and  property  to  promoting  the  spiritual  good  of 
mankind.  And  this  portion  should  be  appropriated  as  a  matter  of 
system  and  of  fixed  principle.  What  portion  of  our  time  and  prop- 
erly should  be  deemed  suitable  and  worthy,  must  be  settled  by  a  ref- 
erence to  the  most  obvious  motives  of  Christianity,  and  especially  to 
those  feelings  of  love,  gratitude,  and  generous  sympathy,  to  which 
the  appeal  is  so  often  made  by  our  Saviour  and  his  Apostles.  No 
conclusions  short  of  these  can  be  entertained  for  a  moment,  unless 
we  go  the  full  length  of  releasing  ourselves  from  all  obligation  to 
labor  for  the  good  of  others  ;  and  thus  declare  concerning  ourselves, 
that  we  are  not  partakers  of  the  divine  nature  ;  that  we  have  not 
the  spirit  of  Christ ;  and  that  we  do  not  lay  up  treasure  in  heaven. 
This  would  be  no  less,  than  to  disinherit  ourselves  from  our  Heav- 
enly Father's  bounty,  to  rely  for  happiness  upon  our  own  resources, 
and  to  proclaim  ourselves  independent  of  God.  To  such  frightful 
extremities  must  Ave  be  led,  unless  we  are  willing  to  acknowledge 
that  we  are  not  our  own,  but  ai'e  bought  with  ainice;  and  that  no 
true  Christian  liveth  to  himself;  and  that  no  man,  who  is  duly 
mindful  of  his  spiritual  nature  and  his  immortal  destiny,  can  with- 
hold from  the  service  of  the  church,  and  of  the  great  human  family, 
those  faculties  which  he  received  by  the  grace  of  his  Redeemer." 

The  remainder  of  the  autumn  was  very  much  employed  in  la- 
borious and  sometimes  perplexing  duties,  immediately  connected 
with  the  missionary  service.  Another  subject,  however,  was  be- 
ginning to  attract  attention,  and  a  movement  now  commenced  in 
every  way  congenial  to  the  feelings  of  Mr.  Evarts.  The  Sabbath 
was  always  to  him  the  holy  of  the  Lord,  honorable,  a  day  of  sa- 
cred rest  and  religious  improvement.  Personally,  he  was  faithful 
and  diligent  in  the  use  of  its  privileges.  It  is  not  probable  that 
after  he  entered  college,  he  ever  failed  to  note  down  in  some 
form  the  subject  of  the  sermons  that  he  heard,  with  skeletons  and 
remarks,  according  to  the  circumstances  :  and  his  high  estimate  of 
the  privilege  of  sacred  rest  and  of  public  worship,  is  strikingly 
shown  by  many  passages  in  these  papers.  For  the  community,  too, 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  317 

he  valued  the  Sabbath  as  above  all  price  ;  and  the  means  of  se- 
curing its  more  general  and  appropriate  observance  had  been  with 
him  a  subject  of  much  thought  for  many  years.* 

In  1828,  the  public  attention  was  extensively  called  to  the  pro- 
fanation of  the  Sabbath  by  public  conveyances,  and  by  the  opera- 
tions of  the  Post  Office  Department.  The  opening  of  the  Post 
Offices  for  part  of  the  Sabbath  day  was  a  practice  gradually  in- 
troduced, at  first  without  any  requirement  of  law.  In  1810,  a 
section  was  inserted  in  the  law  regulating  the  Department,  by 
which  Postmasters  were  obliged  to  deliver  letters  at  all  reasonable 
hours  071  every  day  of  the  week.  This  requirement  attracted  very 
little  attention  at  the  time ;  and  it  is  supposed  that  the  section 
alluded  to  was  scarcely  considered  at  all,  except  by  the  committee 
that  introduced  it.  Its  consequences,  however,  soon  began  to  at- 
tract attention  ;  and  the  transportation  of  the  mail  and  the  open- 
ing of  the  offices  were  soon  extensively  felt,  by  intelligent  and 
Christian  men,  to  be  a  serious  and  alarming  evil. 

Soon  after  the  conclusion  of  the  last  war  with  Great  Britain, 
while  Mr.  Evarts  was  editor  of  the  Panoplist,  the  subject  was 
much  discussed,  and  numerous  petitions  went  up  to  Congress,  ask- 
ing for  a  removal  of  these  evils.  The  attention  of  Congress  was 
arrested,  and  a  respectful  report  was  made  by  the  Postmaster 
General ;  but  a  regard  to  what  was  supposed  to  be  the  public  ac- 
commodation and  convenience  prevented  any  legislative  inter- 
position. 

Although  the  evil  and  the  wrong  continued  to  weigh  heavily 
upon  the  minds  of  reflecting  and  patriotic  men,  no  general  effort 
was  made   on  the   subject  till  this   year.f     Early  in  December,  a 

*  See  letter  to  Dr.  Worcester,  p.  1C9,  June    18,  1816. 

t  A  National  Sabbath  Union  was  formed  in  New  York  in  the  spring  of  the  year 
1S2S.  In  any  adequate  history  of  this  movement,  the  name  of  the  late  Josiah  Bis- 
SELL,  Jr.,  of  Rochester,  New  York,  would  be  most  honorably  conspicuous.  Some 
characteristic  notices  of  this  remarkable  man  occur  on  preceding  pages.  No  one  who 
met  him  at  this  time  can  forget  the  activity,  the  energy,  the  singleness  of  purpose,  the 
entire  devotedness  to  a  good  cause  for  Christ's  sake,  the  unreserved  consecration  of 
property,  time,  and  influence,  and  the  fervent  devotional  spirit,  that  marked  every 
waking  moment,  and  made  all  around  him  glow  in  the  cause.  The  sound  judgment  of 
Mr.  Evarts,  although  decidedly  with  him  in  the  general  tenor  of  his  movements,  could 
not  alwaj's  approve  of  every  act  and  word  ;  but  he  most  cordially  sympathized  with 
him  in  spirit,  and  often  remarked  that  a  few  such  men  as  Josiah  Bissell  would 
hasten  the  day  of  the  church's  millennial  glory.     Mr.  Bissell  and  others  on  the  great 


318  LIFE   OF   EVARTS. 

most  respectable  committee  was  organized  in  New  York  city,  con- 
sisting of  gentlemen  of  different  religious  denominations,  who  soon 
sent  out  an  invitation  to  their  countrymen  to  join  in  a  petition  for 
the  closing  of  the  Post-offices  and  discontinuance  of  the  mails 
on  the  Sabbath.  Mr.  Evarts  at  once  engaged  in  the  effort  with 
great  earnestness  ;  and  as  a  member  of  a  committee  for  that  pur- 
pose, wrote  a  petition  which  was  circulated  in  Boston  and  distribu- 
ted throughout  New  England.  The  movement  cheered  and  ani- 
mated him.  "  You  would  be  surprised,"  he  writes,  Dec.  26,  "  at 
the  increase  of  moral  feeling  on  this  subject,  as  is  evinced  by  activ- 
ity in  promoting  subscriptions,  he.  A  large  portion  of  the  most 
respectable  inhabitants  of  Boston  are  among  the  signers." 

Just  at  this  juncture,  too,  the  clouds  began  to  gather  more 
thickly  over  the  prospects  of  the  Indians,  for  whom  he  had  labored 
so  many  years,  whose  progress  he  had  watched  with  such  deep 
interest,  and  whose  well  being,  not  only  religious  considerations, 
but  extensive  personal  acquaintance  made  so  dear  to  him.  At  the 
close  of  December,  it  was  determined  by  the  Prudential  Com- 
mittee that  he  must  again  repair  to  Washington.  *'  The  particu- 
lar object  is,"  he  writes,  "  to  make  representations  respecting  the 
rights  of  the  Indians;  as  it  appears  from  the  President's  message, 
and  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  that  severe  measures  are 
meditated  against  them  ;  or  in  other  words,  that  they  will  be  com- 
pelled to  remove,  or  to  have  their  white  neighbors  let  in  upon 
them.  I  hope  to  set  out  in  a  fortnight,  though  it  will  be  difficult. 
It  would  be  much  more  agreeable,  on  several  accounts,  to  stay  in 
Boston,  and  get  well  through  our  correspondence." 

thoroughfares  were  particularly  affected  by  this  consideration  ; — that  the  patronagre  of 
government,  in  paying  for  the  transportation  of  the  mails  on  the  Sabbath,  fluni^hed 
the  means  for,  and  was  the  cause  of,  the  running  of  stage  coaches  on  that  day,  and  of 
a  great  and  rapidly  increasing  profanation  of  it,  wherever  such  patronage  was  given. 
It  was  a  national  measure  ;  and  the  people,  who  might  order  it  otherwise,  were  in- 
volved in  the  guilt. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 


CORRESPONDING    SECRETARY.    1829—1830. 


We  are  now  arrived  at  those  months  of  intense  anxiety  and 
unremitted  labor,  that  proved  too  much  for  the  feeble  constitution 
of  Mr.  Evarts,  and  hurried  iiim  to  his  final  rest.  Indeed,  from  the 
beginning  of  1828,  the  outrages  at  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  one 
or  two  other  harassing  subjects  immediately  connected  with  his 
official  duties,  had  filled  his  mind,  to  an  unwonted  degree,  with 
anxiety  and  care.  He  could  always  sleep  soundly,  when  he 
chose;  and  that  power  enabled  him,  though  of  so  frail  health,  to 
endure  what  would  have  broken  down  most  stronger  men.  But 
he  allowed  himself  scarcely  any  other  moments  of  rest  or  relaxa- 
tion. Much  of  the  time  away  from  home,  busy  with  other  men 
during  their  active  hours,  and  then  preparing  important  and 
voluminous  documents  when  alone,  protracting  his  labors  to 
eleven  and  twelve  o'clock  at  night,  and  even  later, — although  he 
reached  the  beginning  of  the  year  1829  without  a  sensible  failure 
of  health,  it  is  evident  from  the  result,  that  the  sustaining  power, 
even  then,  was  in  the  spiritual,  rather  than  the  physical  energies. 

After  an  anxious  and  laborious  month  at  home,  he  left  Boston 
at  the  close  of  January,  on  his  way  to  Washington,  whither  he 
was  called,  not  only  by  the  agitation  of  the  question  of  the  re- 
moval of  the  Indians,  but  by  the  earnest  representations  of  gentle- 
men in  Boston,  New  York,  and  at  the  seat  of  government,  urging 


320  ^^FE   ^^  EVARTS. 

the  importance  of  his  attention  there,  to  second  the  memorials 
that  had  been  forwarded  in  great  numbers,  praying  for  a  discon- 
tinuance of  the  Sabbath  mails.  "  It  would  give  me  pleasure," 
he  writes  to  Mr.  Bissell,  "  did  time  permit,  to  write  upon  the  va- 
rious topics  which  you  mention.  But  I  am  much  occupied  ;  new 
business  comes  upon  me  daily  ;  and  I  am  wishing  to  set  out  soon 
for  Washington,  to  attend  to  the  concerns  of  Indian  missions,  and 
to  afford  my  feeble  aid  in  regard  to  Sabbath  measures.  The 
spirit  of  your  letter  I  admire.  Several  important  thoughts  may  be 
of  use  to  me  and  to  others.  I  would  caution  you,  however,  against 
saying  severe  things  against  the  rich.  Our  Saviour  knew  the  hearts 
of  all  men  ;  but  we  are  weak  and  ignorant,  and  may  be  too  much 
influenced  by  the  pressure  of  circumstances,  partial  views,  and 
various  passions.  The  principle  of  universal  consecration  may 
indeed  be  insisted  upon  ;  and  the  obligation  to  do  all  we  can,  and 
to  do  it  now." 

A  few  of  the  memorials  sent  on  by  those  who  wished  to  have 
the  mails  discontinued  on  the  Sabbath,  had  been  addressed  to  the 
Senate,  and  Col.  Richard  M.  Johnson,  then  chairman  of  the  Post 
Office  Committee  in  that  body,  had  presented  an  adverse,  and  a 
very  unjust  and  bitter  report  upon  the  subject,  before  Mr.  Evarts 
left  Boston.*  As  an  appeal  to  vulgar  prejudices,  it  was  well  cal- 
culated to  accomplish  its  end,  and  encourage  the  opposition  of 
those  who  care  nothing  for  the  sanctity  of  the  Lord's  Day  ;  and 
the  mouths  of  multitudes  were  soon  filled  with  arguments  against 
clerical  influence  and  the   alleged  wish  to  unite  church  and  state. 

Mr.  Evarts,  having  been  delayed  by  important  business  at  New 
Haven  and  elsewhere,  did  not  reach  Washington  till  Februa- 
ry 12th. 

"  February  5.  New  York.  Attended  a  meeting  of  the  Mana- 
gers of  the  American  Bible  Society.  Two  subjects  of  importance 
came  up ; — one,  an  application  for  money  to  print  the  Scriptures 
in  the  Burman  language  ;  the  other,  a  proposal  to  give  the 
Auxiliary   Committee  power  to  appoint  agents   and   send   them 

*  Four  memorials  only,  with  350  sig^nalures,  had  then  been  presented  in  the  Senate. 
At  the  same  time  there  were  probably  at  least  25,000  signatures  to  memorials  present- 
ed in  the  House  of  Representatives. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  321 

forth  without  reference  to  the  Board  of  Managers.  The  first  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  of  Foreign  Distribution.  The  second 
proposal  was  carried,  and  was  considered  a  victory  over  the  com- 
mercial sjjirit,  as  it  is  called,  of  a  certain  part  of  the  Managers. 
Dr.  Milnor  made  a  good  speech  upon  the  utility  of  agents,  and 
upon  the  necessity  of  enlarged  operations. 

"  6.  Attended  a  meeting  of  the  Managers  of  the  Seamen's 
Friend  Society,  and  answered,  as  far  as  I  was  able,  all  questions 
proposed  in  reference  to  a  missionary  among  the  sailors  in  the 
river  of  Canton. 

"  P.  M.  Wrote  No.  2*  to  the  Missionary  Rooms,  and  a  letter 
to  Mr.  Chamberlain  at  the  Sandwich  Islands.  Spent  part  of  the 
evening  with  Mr.  T.,  who  had  lately  returned  from  Washington, 
and  from  whom  I  learned  much  that  may  be  useful  to  me. 

"  Monday,  9.  Reached  Lancaster!  at  four  o'clock  and  York 
at  nine.  Mr.  Cheeves  lives  near  Lancaster.  This  is  supposed 
to  be  the  richest  agricultural  district  in  the  United  States ;  but 
the  people  are  not  advanced  in  any  other  kind  of  civilization, 
than  what  relates  to  the  cultivation  of  land.  There  is  a  total 
absence  of  taste  in  their  dwelling-houses,  gardens,  Stc,  and  a 
great  want  of  comfort  too. 

"  I  was  told  in  the  stage,  by  an  inhabitant  of  the  vicinity,  that 
nearly  all  the  land  from  Lancaster  to  Columbia,  (eleven  miles,) 
would  produce  sixty  bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre.  I  also  learned 
a  fact  that  interested  me  much,  as  bearing  upon  the  settlement  of 
the  great  prairies  beyond  the  Mississippi.  It  was  this ;  that  the 
country  about  Lancaster  was  entirely  destitute  of  trees,  except 
upon  the  water  courses,  when  the  country  was  settled,  which  I 
think  was  less  than  a  century  ago  ;  that  the  people  then  were 
obliged  to  dig  ditches,  as  they  could  make  no  fences ;  and  that 
the  thrifty  and  beautiful   woodlands  which  are  now   to  be  seen, 

*  These  letters  to  the  Rooms,  whether  written  while  absent  at  Washington  at  dif- 
ferent times,  or  on  other  journeys,  were  in  fact  journals  of  daily  employments —labors, 
conversations,  &c.,  with  remarks,  written  in  all  the  freedom  of  unreserved  confidence. 
They  are  crowded  with  interest,  but,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  not  generally  adapt- 
ed to  publication. 

t  This  route,  and  by  stage,  being  the  only  one  then  practicable  from  Philadelphia  to 
Baltimore. 

41 


3!i<J2  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

have  had  their  origin  since  the  annual  fires  were  stopped  by  cul- 
tivation. 

"  10.  Baltimore.  Made  several  calls.  Conversed  v^'ith  Mr. 
Nevins  about  aiding  our  missionary  operations.  He  says  nothing 
can  be  effectually  done  in  Baltimore  without  a  good  agent ; — that 
Messrs.  King  and  Kirk  prepared  the  way  for  another  agent, 
though  they  could  not  succeed  themselves.  They  set  the  mark 
so  high  that  the  rich  men  were  not  prepared  to  reach  it.  They 
asked  for  hundreds,  which  they  could  not  obtain,  though  they  ex- 
cited the  people  so  that  they  would  willingly  have  given  tens. 

"11.  Washington.  Arrived  at  eleven  at  Gadsby's,  where 
are  nearly  200  lodgers,  including  Gen.  Jackson  and  his  suite. 

"  15.  Immediately  on  my  arrival,  I  endeavored  to  ascertain 
how  matters  stood  respecting  the  various  concerns  which  brought 
me  hither,  with  a  view  to  apply  my  time  to  that  subject  which 
demanded  it  most." 

The  Committee  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  to  which 
body  the  memorials  relating  to  Sabbath  mails  had  generally  been 
sent,  had  presented  a  report,  doing  justice  to  the  principles  and 
motives  of  the  memorialists,  and  recommending  some  changes  in 
accordance  with  their  views.  But  the  report  had  not  been  acted 
upon  in  any  way,  and  the  friends  of  the  Sabbath  were  a  good 
deal  solicitous  about  the  result. 

"  February  16.  The  Postmaster  General  informed  me  that 
the  Post  Office  in  London  is  not  opened  on  the  Sabbath,  as  we 
previously  knew ;  and  that  no  mail  is  made  up,  nor  is  any  mail 
received  at  that  office,  on  that  day.  This  he  has  from  Mr. 
Vaughan,  the  British  minister  now  here.  The  mails  which  had 
left  London  previously  to  the  Sabbath,  continue  their  course  on 
the  Sabbath,  as  on  other  days  ;  and  the  post-offices,  in  the  pro- 
vincial towns  are  open  a  little  while  on  Sabbath  mornings.  The 
mail  coaches  leave  London,  and  come  in,  on  the  Sabbath  ;  but 
they  leave  the  city  without  the  mail,  and  do  not  approach  the 
post-office  at  all.  It  follows  that  the  return  mails  are  kept  in  the 
coaches,  or  at  the  stage  offices,  till  the  Sabbath  is  past.     All  that 


LIFE   OF   EVARTS.  323 

is  necessary  in  Great  Britain,  in  order  that  the  Sabbath  should  be 
perfectly  observed  by  the  post-office  department,  is,  that  the  same 
plan  should  be  pursued  in  the  provincial  towns  and  on  the 
highways,  as  is  pursued  in  London,  the  great  emporium  of  the 
world,  whose  post-office  is  probably  the  seat  of  more  business,  and 
that  of  greater  importance,  than  the  aggregate  business  of  any 
other  five  post-offices  upon  earth  ;  say  the  post-offices  of  Paris, 
Vienna,  Petersburgh,  Hamburg,  and  New  York.  How  ridiculous 
to  talk,  so  largely  of  expresses,  as  though  forty  mercantile  houses 
would  have  their  men  running  a  race  from  New  York  to  Boston 
every  Sabbath,  if  the  mail  were  not  carried,  when  the  mail  does 
not  leave  London  from  Saturday  afternoon  till  Monday  afternoon  ; 
and  when  the  mercantile  correspondence  between  London  and 
Liverpool  alone,  is  estimated  to  be  at  least  five  times  as  great  as 
between  New  York  and  Philadelphia. 

"  It  is  perfectly  evident  that  nearly  all  the  active  opposition 
which  the  petitions  have  to  encounter,  originates  in  the  dislike  of 
religion,  and  the  fear  that  religion  is  likely  to  gain  too  much  in- 
fluence. This  we  knew  beforehand  ;  and  this  we  are  constantly 
to  remember ;  though  we  must  not  say  it  publicly.  How  can  it 
be  expected  that  members  of  Congress  should  wish  to  defend  the 
Sabbath,  when  the  most  of  them  pay  no  religious  regard  to  it 
whatever  ?  It  was  estimated  yesterday  by  a  member,  that  not 
more  than  one  tenth  part  of  the  members  of  the  two  houses  at- 
tend public  worship  as  a  regular  thing  ;  others  attend  half  the 
time  ;  others  very  seldom  ;  and  a  large  number  scarcely  at  all 
durino-  the  session.  Some  have  said  that  they  attend  when  at 
home,  and  that  is  enough  ;  they  cannot  spend  the  time  to  attend 
here. 

"  Went  to  the  House,  to  witness  the  presentation  of  petitions. 
Members  spoke  so  low,  and  there  was  so  much  noise,  that  I  could 
not  ascertain  how  many  petitions  had  relation  to  Sabbath  mails. 
There  were  a  respectable  number,  however  ;  and,  among  them, 
one  was  presented  by  Mr.  Crowninshield,  from  persons  in  his 
district,  one  by  Mr.  Everett,  from  inhabitants  of  Cambridge,  and 
some  from  North  Carolina,  Ohio,  Alabama,  Missouri,  and  other 
states. 


324  I^I^E   OF  EVARTS. 

\         "21.     I  think  the  prospect  of  the  Cherokees  very  dark.     Mr. 

~  ■  Ross*  told  me  this  morning,  that  if  Georgia  sends  in  her  officers  to 

,      ^    execute  process  upon  the  Indians,  they  will  resist,  from  mere  des- 

J  peration,  being  determined  to  sell  their  lives  as  dearly  as  possible, 

and  preferring  death  to  subjugation  or  exile. 

"23.     Yesterday  Dr.  Ely    preached    in    the    Capitol.     This 
"^rooming  he  introduced  me  to  the  General  [Jackson.]     We  enter- 
ed immediately  upon  Indian  affairs.     He  thinks  that  the  Indians 
are  in  a  difficult  case.     The  evil  which  he  apprehends  is,  a  direct 
,    i^  collision  between  the   national  and  slate  authorities.     It  is  mani- 
fast  that  he  is  not  now  prepared  to  interpose  and  defend  the  Cher- 
okees  from   Georgia  ;  and  you  may  easily  judge  whether  it  is 
probable  he  will  be  in  more  favorable   circumstances   hereafter  to 
decide  in  favor  of  the  weaker  party.     I  must  say,  however,  that 
■-■L   I  have  no  evidence  that  any  man  now  at  Washington,  and  having 
the  power  to  defend  the  Indians,  would   be  more  likely  to  do  so 
than  he.     It  seems  to  be  taken  for  granted,  that  if  a   '  sovereign 
and  independent  state,'  to  use  the  cant  phrase  of  the  day,  under- 
takes to  dispossess  the  Indians,  the   national   government   can  do 
nothing   to   prevent   it.     I  shall  wait  for  another  interview,  at 
^'      I     which  I  shall  endeavor  to  state  the  question  plainly.     It  is,  how- 
-*'        ^1  jtever,  a  tender  point ;  and  it  is  very  difficult  to  be  faithful  and  suf- 
ficiently respectful. 

"  25.     Mr.  M'L.  [who,  it   was  supposed,  would  be  the   new 

Secretary  of  War,]  is  the  man  whom,  of  all  others  connected  with 

^/      either  of  the  parties,  I  would  wish  to  see  in   the   Department  of 

^/'^      War.     Not  that  I  suppose  that  he  can  withstand  the  strong  cur- 

^  h^  rent  now  running  against  the  Indians,  nor  that  he  has  altogether 

correct  views  on  the  subject ;  but  I  know  of  no  man  in  public  life, 

or  extensively  known  to  the  American  people  as   a  politician, 

who  has  more  correct  principles  than  he ;  and  whatever  may  be 

his  views,  he  is  mild  and  candid  in  his  manner,  and  will  be  steady 

and  energetic  in  his  course  of  conduct. 

"  For  the  last  week,  I  have  spent  a  part  of  every  day  in  look- 
ing over  the  petitions  with  reference  to  the  Sabbath,  in  the  Com- 
mittee room   in   which    the   Committee  of  the   House  on   Post 

*  John  Ross,  principal  chief  of  the  Cherokees. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  325 

Offices  and  Post  Roads  hold  their  meetings.  Mr.  H.  of  New 
York  has  been  with  me.  I  obtained  permission  from  the  chair- 
man. We  have  now  gone  over  all  that  we  can  find,  except  those 
which  have  been  offered  during  the  last  two  weeks.  I  shall  be 
able  to  state  the  number  of  petitions  and  the  number  of  signers. 

"  There  is  among  the  petitioners  a  vast  amount  of  moral  and 
intellectual  power ;  and,  if  supported  by  the  proper  degree  of 
zealous  effort,  it  must  be  successful. 

"  If  our  whole  country  were  to  petition,  as  has  been  done  in 
Boston,  Newburyport,  Springfield,  West  Springfield,  Albany, 
New  York,  Newark,  Baltimore,  Prince  Edward,  Va.,  Charleston, 
S.  C,  Augusta,  Ga.,  and  many  other  places  ;  and  if  the  petitioners 
would,  in  the  interval  between  the  present  session  of  Congress 
and  the  next,  use  their  influence  with  members,  there  could  be 
no  doubt  of  a  favorable  issue  within  a  short  time. 

"  The  following  measures,  (or  rather  classes  of  measures,) 
should  be  resolved  upon  immediately,  by  the  friends  of  the 
Sabbath. 

*'  1.  To  make  the  celebration  of  the  anniversary  of  the  Gen- 
eral Sabbath  Union  as  interesting  as  possible  ;  and  to  have  a  se- 
ries of  resolutions  ably  and  carefully  drawn,  and  an  address  made 
ready  for  the  occasion. 

"  2.  To  organize  a  system  by  which  the  friends  of  the  Sab- 
bath shall  make  known  their  wishes  to  their  representatives,  face 
to  face,  repeatedly  and  earnestly,  as  soon  as  possible  after  their 
return  from  Washington. 

"  3.  To  take  the  proper  steps  in  season  to  call  forth  the  re- 
ligious strength  of  the  country  in  petitions  next  fall. 

"  4.  To  secure,  as  far  as  possible,  the  co-operation  of  Chris- 
tians of  different  denominations. 

"  I  am  strongly  of  opinion  that  we  must  keep  the  command  of 
God  in  the  front  of  this  battle  ;  and  that  the  matter  of  expe- 
diency and  temporal  benefit  must  come  in  subsequently,  as  con- 
firmatory and  auxiHary.  I  have  not  found  a  single  member  of 
Congress  whose  defence  of  the  Sabbath  would  be  worth  a  fig, 
who  would  not  build  altogether  on  the  foundation  of  the  Sabbath 
being  a  divine  institution,  and  of  our  being  obliged  to  regard  it  as 
such. 


326  ^IPE  OF  EVARTS. 

"  The  plain  common  sense  petitions,  from  almost  all  parts  of 
the  country,  begin  by  a  reference  to  the  law  of  God." 

The  result  of  this  examination  of  memorials  was,  the  publica- 
tion, in  May,  of  a  pamphlet,  prepared  with  great  care,  giving  a 
list  of  the  places  from  which  memorials  were  sent  ;  extracts  from 
memorials,  arranged  under  appropriate  heads  ;  and  selected  names 
of  memorialists  ;  the  whole  designed  to  exhibit  briefly  the  nature 
and  importance  of  the  object,  the  reasons  urged  for  the  proposed 
change,  and  the  union  of  intelligent  men  in  all  the  departments  of 
business  and  of  public  life,  in  seeking  that  change. 

"  February  26.  I  have  not  yet  mentioned  the  remonstrances 
against  Congress  doing  any  thing  in  compliance  with  the  peti- 
tions on  the  subject  of  Sabbath  mails. 

"  These  remonstrances  have  been  presented  from  towns  on  the 
line  of  the  Pioneer  stages,* — from  the  County  of  Kennebec, 
Me.,  from  Philadelphia,  and  a  few  other  places.  There  was 
great  zeal  in  Philadelphia  against  the  Sabbath,  and  I  should 
think  but  little  in  its  favor.  A  printed  form  of  a  remonstrance 
was  circulated  and  pressed  upon  the  lowest  classes  of  society. 
We  discovered  that,  to  swell  the  list  of  names,  duplicate  signa- 
tures had  been  obtained,  to  a  considerable  extent.  Our  most 
charitable  conclusion  is,  that  the  signers  were  requested  to  sign 
duplicates,  that  a  remonstrance  might  be  presented  to  each  house  ; 
but  that  the  agents  in  this  business  thought  it  would  be  a  good 
trick  to  send  the  whole  to  one  house,  for  the  purpose  of  counting 
a  large  number  of  names.  I  first  observed  that  the  same  name 
was  repeated  in  several  small  lists  of  names,  which  were  sent 
separately.  This  led  to  a  comparison  of  two  long  lists,  where  it 
was  observed  that  both  began  with  the  same  signers,  though  not 
exactly  in  the  same  order.  At  last  I  found  that  one  of  the  lists, 
(the  longest  of  all,)  contained  whole  sheets  with  the  same  names 
repeated  exactly  in  the  same  order.  I  shall  endeavor  to  examine 
this  matter  further. 

*  A  line  of  stages  from  Albany  to  BufTalo,  established  by  the  exertions  and 
chiefly  at  the  expense  of  Mr.  Bissell,  as  a  Sabbath-keeping  line,  for  the  purpose  of 
preventing,  as  far  as  possible,  the  profanation  of  the  Sabbath  on  that  groat  thor- 
oughfaro. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  327 

"  I  have  just  been  spending  some  time  with  Mr.  Ross  and  his 
colleagues.  They  were  just  preparing  a  petition  to  Congress,  in 
which  I  advised  two  amendments,  that  were  readily  adopted.  I 
have  thought  it  to  be  my  duty  to  avow  myself  a  decided  friend  of 
the  Indians,  while  I  disclaim  any  authority  from  them  to  act  as 
their  agent.  There  was  an  interesting  debate  yesterday  on  Indian 
subjects,  at  which  I  was  not  present.  It  is  expected  to  be  re- 
newed to-day,  and  I  hasten  to  the  Capitol  to  hear  it." 


TO    MR.    D.    GUEENE. 

"  Since  I  wrote  this  forenoon,  I  have  spent  an  hour  with  Mr. 
F.  It  does  me  good  to  see  such  a  man  on  this  ground.  If  there 
were  twenty  of  the  same  stamp,  suitably  dispersed  in  each  house, 
almost  any  thing  could  be  accomplished  for  the  good  of  our  be- 
loved country.  How  far  he  will  be  able  to  stand  alone,  or  nearly 
alone,  time  will  show.  I  believe  I  have  not  yet  said  to  you,  what 
I  have  ascertained  to  be  the  fact,  that  men  from  whom  I  had 
expected  better  things,  are  guilty  of  tergiversation  in  regard  to 
moral  subjects ;  and  I  presume,  a  fortiori,  in  regard  to  other  sub- 
jects, where  their  own  views  and  interests  are  to  be  promoted. 
Thus,  on  the  Sabbath  question,  men  who  talked  very  fairly  and 
decidedly  to  me  in  regard  to  closing  post-offices,  used  all  their  in- 
fluence with  others  to  prevent  anything  whatever  being  done. 

"  I  believe,  however,  that  a  sufficient  number  can  be  enlisted 
to  take  a  firm  stand  at  the  next  session  of  Congress  ;  and  if  there 
is  a  firm,  decided,  argumentative  stand  taken,  in  the  way  of  serious, 
persevering  debate,  it  will  do  much  to  help  the  cause  of  morals  in 
our  land. 

"  Monday,  March  9th.  Last  Friday,  I  learned  that  the  Re- 
view of  Mr.  Johnson's  Report  had  been  received  by  all  the  mem- 
bers. They  knew  not  whence  it  came.  I  borrowed  a  copy,  and 
read  it  through  with  great  delight.  I  then  lent  it  to  Mr.  F.,  with 
whom  I  have  spent  the  two  last  evenings,  and  who  read  it  through 
immediately,  and  with  entire  and  warm  approbation.  He  says 
it  will  do  immense  good,  and  that  a  cheap  edition  must  be  exten- 
sively circulated.     More  of  this  hereafter. 


328  LIFE   OF   EVARTS. 

i<        "  I  have  just  parted  with   Gov. and  Gov. .     They 

are  both  entirely  dispirited  about   the   Indians.     Gov.  says 

their  case  is  entirely  hopeless.     The  whites  will  destroy  the  whole 

race.     Gov. says  that,  unless  the  present  progress  of  things 

is  arrested  now,  nothing  can  be  done  hereafter. 

j^        "  Not  a  single  appropriation  has  been  made   for  the  northern 
Indians,  in  their  present  critical   and   precarious   condition.     The 
appropriations  requested  may  all  have  been  well  enough,  for  aught 
I  know  ;  but  they  were  defeated  by  the  friends  of  the  Indians,  be- 
cause they  would  not  legislate  in  the  dark — and  because  they  would 
not  begin  by  making  points,  or  corners,  in  a  plan,  till  they  could 
see  how  the  plan  is   to   be   filled  up.     This  hesitation  I   entirely 
approve,  and  urged  Mr.  B.  and  others  not  to  do  any  thing  till  the 
bearing  of  what  they  are  doing  could  be  seen. 
V>     "^^^  "  Next  session  there  will  be,  I  think,  much  and  intelligent  de- 
\  .^V         bating  on  this  subject ;  and  the  result  will  be,  either  that  Congress 
**  will  do  nothing,  and  the  whites,  under  the  protection  of  the  South- 

ern States,  will  deal  with  the  Indians  as  seems  right   in   their  own 
eyes ;  or  everything  will  be  carried  headlong,  in   all  branches  of 

Jf-  the  government,  against  the  poor  Indians.  I  have  not  seen  a  sin- 
gle man,  of  any  party,  who  thinks  that  anything  effectual  can  be 
done  to  protect  our  weak  red  men  of  the  forest." 

Yet  Mr.  Evarts  did  not  despair  of  the  republic. 

J,-  "  If  we  can  promote  the  cause  of  good  morals  and  of  religion," 
he  wrote  at  this  time,  "  and  if  it  should  please  the  Lord  to  favor 
us  in  years  to  come  as  in  years  past,  twenty  years  will  not  elapse 
before  the  voice  of  conscience  will  be  felt  and  regarded  exten- 
sively within  the  walls  of  the  Capitol.  We  should  aim  that  this 
may  be  accomplished  immediately." 

sL,  "  March  28.  I  am  writing  a  document  on  the  rights  of  the 
1  Cherokees,  to  be  laid  before  the  government  ;  *  not  with  the  ex- 
i  pectation  of  producing  any  effect  on  the  cabinet ;  but  for  the  sake 

*  This  argument,  though  written  out  to  the  extent  of  more  than  fifty  close  pages, 
was  never  entirely  completed,  Mr.  Evarts  having  finally  decided  on  an  appeal  to  the 
public.  The  course  of  reasoning  was  that  pursued  in  the  Essays  afterwards  published 
under  the  signature  ©f  William  Penn. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  329 

of  bearing  a  testimony,  and  thus  clearing  ourselves  from  any  share  ^  ^-cLfw-  -^ 
in  what  will  be  most  glaring  injustice.     Gen.  Jackson  left   home,  I  ^'^^ 

I  have  no  doubt,  with  a  settled  conviction  that  it  would  be  neces- 
sary to  deliver  the  Indians  over  to  the  States. 

"  A  letter  has  been  already  written  by  him  to  the  Creeks,  say- 
ing that  he  cannot  interpose  to  shield  them  from  the  laws   of  Ala- 
bama ;  but  that  if  they  will  remove,  they  shall   be  secure  in   the 
possession  of  lands  at  the  west  forever.     1  have  no  doubt  he  will  ^ 
say  the   same  to  the  Cherokee  delegation  before  they  leave  the     ^ 
city. 

"  Mr.  L.  thinks  it  would  be  best  for  our  Board  to  join  in  advis-  4 
ing  removal ;  that  by  approving  of  the  measures   of  government, 
we  should  get  assistance.     But  I  do  not  think  we  can  stand   ac-  r 
quitted  before  God,  or  posterity,  unless  we  bear  a  testimony  against     -/- 
the  threatened  course  of  proceeding.     If  the  Indians  are  compelled 
to  go,  we  must  do  them  as  much  good  as  we  can.     Till  that  com- 
pulsion shall  be  in  operation, 'and  irresistible,  and  shall  be  seen  to  be 
so,  I  think  we  are  not  bound  to  conceal  our  opinion  ;  but  that,  on 
the  contrary,  we  are  bound  to  declare  it  plainly,  at  least  once.       ■*- 

"  I  shall  set  out  on  the  first  of  April,  or  as  soon  after  as  possi- 
ble. I  do  not  make  as  much  progress  as  I  could  desire.  Yet  I 
sit  up  till  eleven  or  twelve  o'clock,  see  very  little  company,  ex- 
cept on  business,  and  visit  very  little. 

"  Philadelphia,  April  6.  Before  leaving  Washington,  I  had  an 
interview  with  the  Secretary  of  War  on  the  Indian  subject.  Mr. 
B.,  of  Georgia  happened  to  be  present.  On  my  way  hither  I  fell 
into  the  same  steamboat  with  him,  and,  without  any  formal  intro- 
duction, I  conversed  on  the  subject  of  Indian  treaties.  This  provi- 
dential interview  I  have  looked  upon  as  very  important,  as  it 
enables  me  to  say,  more  explicitly  and  fully  than  I  should  other- 
wise have  felt  warranted  to  say,  (though  I  had  no  doubt  in  my 
own  mind,)  to  what  extent  the  government  and  the  southern  States 
will  go,  in  regard  to  denying  the  rights  of  the  Cherokees.  Mr. 
B.  stated  that  the  government  inconsiderately  fell  into  the  habitue 
of  making  treaties  with  the  Indians  ;  that  Indians  are  not  proper 
parties  to  treaties ;  that  the  government  of  the  United  States  have 
no  power  to  guarantee  to  Indians  lands  within  the  limits  of  any  of 
the  old  States ;  and  that  Georgia  has  a  perfect  title  to  the  Cher- 
42 


330  I-^FE   OF  EVARTS. 

okee  lands,  while  the  Cherokees  have  no  title  at  all  but  that  of 
occupancy.  He  said  (what  I  knew  before)  that  Gen.  Jackson  had 
written  to  the  Creeks  in  Alabama,  stating  that  he  could  not  pro- 
tect them  from  the  laws  of  that  State. 
ji.  "  The  temper  and  feelings  of  the  government  are  such  that  the 
members  will  feel  exasperated,  if  we  interpose  by  way  of  argu- 
ment, and  attempt,  however  respectfully,  to  defend  the  rights  of 
i  ^ the  Cherokees.  Although  this  does  not  alter  my  opinion  in  re- 
gard to  the  path  of  duty,  it  furnishes  a  powerful  reason  why  we 
should  consider  well  what  we  do.  I  did  not  finish  my  long  doc- 
ument on  this  subject ;  but  thought  I  should  send  it  back  from 
New  York,  if  it  meet  the  approbation  of  Mr.  F.  I  now  think  I 
shall  show  it  to  him,  take  his  advice,  and  bring  it  with  me  to 
Boston. 
.  ^  "I  place  great  reliance  on  Mr.  F.'s  opinion,  not  only  because 
it  is  valuable  in  itself,  but  because  we  must  rely  more  on  his 
agency  in  behalf  of  anything  good,  than  on  the  agency  of  any 
other  man  connected  with  our  national  councils. 

"  Troubles  and  vexations  are  thickening  around  us  ;  and  I  have 
no  doubt  they  will  be  much  greater,  before  they  are  less.  But,  so 
far  as  we  can  do  what  is  right,  I  am  not  concerned  about  conse- 
quences." 

"  I  returned  from  Washington,"  he  writes  after  his  arrival  home, 
"  just  a  week  ago,  having  been  absent  from  Boston  since  the  last 
day  of  January.  During  this  week  we  have  had  a  Committee 
meeting,  at  which  much  business  was  transacted.  I  have  been  to 
Andover,  whence  I  came  this  morning.  My  principal  business  at 
Washington  related  to  the  condition  of  the  Indians.  I  had  not 
much  intercourse  with  the  government, —  either  the  old  or  the  new 
administration  ;  but  enough  to  learn  that  the  poor  Indians  have 
little  to  hope  for,  unless  the  Lord  should  turn  the  hearts  of  our 
rulers  by  the  instrumentality  of  the  reasonings,  expostulations,  and 
entreaties  of  his  people." 

Having  gone  through  the  urgent  business  at  home,  and  carried 
his  pamphlet  on  Sabbath  mails  through  the  press,  he  went  to  New 
York  and  Philadelphia,  to  attend  the  religious  anniversaries  and 
the  General  Assembly. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  331 

"New  York,  Monday  morning,  May  11.  Breakfasted  with 
Mr.  Bruen,  in  order  to  hear  bis  report  for  the  Sabbath  Union. 
From  eleven  to  two,  was  engaged  in  writing  resolutions  respecting 
the  Sabbath  Union.  After  dinner  these  resolutions  were  read  and 
criticised,  and  were  copied  late  in  the  evening.  I  had  been  re- 
quested on  Saturday  evening  to  prepare  them.  Till  we  arrived, 
the  Committee  had  not  intended  to  have  any  resolutions,  and  had 
made  very  little  preparation  for  the  meeting. 

"  Tuesday,  12.  Sabbath  Union,  meeting  for  business  at  eight. 
The  pledge  struck  out  nearly  unanimously,  Mr.  Bissell  warmly 
concurring. 

"Public  meeting  at  ten,  at  the  Methodist  church,  John  street. 
Audience  not  large  ;  but  the  meeting,  I  think,  was  the  best,  the 
most  unstudied,  and  the  most  natural  of  the  week.  Dr.  Reese,  a 
Methodist,  moved  the  printing  of  the  Report,  in  a  warm  speech, 
in  which  he  urged  Christians  of  all  denominations  to  unite  in 
preserving  the  public  morals,  and  to  have  a  regard  to  this  subject 
in  their  estimation  of  the  character  of  public  men.  I  made  a 
short  statement  in  regard  to  the  perceptible  influence  of  the  pres- 
ent Sabbath  measures.  Mr.  Mcllvaine  made  a  speech  of  much 
merit,  though  parts  of  it  were  a  good  deal  studied.  Dr.  Beecher 
made  the  concluding  speech.  Some  thought  it  the  best  speech 
they  ever  heard  him  make.  It  would  certainly  rank  among  his 
most  impressive  addresses. 

"  In  the  evening,  the  temperance  meeting  formed  an  era  in  this 
country.  This  era  consisted  in  the  speech  of  Mr.  Maxwell,  which 
was  an  hour  and  ten  minutes  in  length,  and  was  listened  to  with 
the  most  profound  attention.  It  was,  in  many  respects,  a  noble 
effort ;  but  the  two  things  which  constituted  it  the  commencement 
of  an  era  were,  the  fearless  manner  in  which  he  attacked  the  pub- 
lic authorities  of  the  city,  and  the  distinct  proposal  of  an  adequate 
remedy.  The  public  authorities  he  represented  as  yielding  to 
immorality  for  the  sake  of  securing  the  votes  of  the  immoral — and 
he  declared,  in  two  instances,  perhaps  a  quarter  of  an  hour  apart, 
that  the  people  of  this  country  cannot  retain  a  free  government, 
unless  they  will  choose  for  their  rulers  "  men  who  fear  God  and 
honor  the  law."  He  said  that  great  responsibility  lies  upon  the 
Methodists  and  Baptists  of  this   city  ;  for   they    might,  by  union 


332  '^^^^   OF  EVARTS. 

and  co-operation,  secure  the  election  of  good  men  for  their  rulers. 
He  suggested  one  great  measure  to  prevent  intemperance  in  cities  ; 
which  was,  that  ardent  spirits  should  not  be  sold  at  the  same  shops 
with  bread  and  other  necessaries  of  life.  At  the  close  he  pro- 
nounced a  studied  eulogium,  (the  only  studied  part  of  "his  speech,) 
on  the  American  Temperance  Society.  He  compared  it,  in  a 
long  and  beautiful  paragraph,  to  the  infant  Hercules.  He  intro- 
duced this  part  of  this  speech  by  a  confession  in  nearly  these 
words  :  '  I  was  one  of  those,  sir,  who  are  accustomed  to  say,  "  All 
this  stir  about  intemperance  is  of  no  use  ;  all  things  will  remain  as 
they  were  ;  "  but  I  thank  God  I  have  changed  my  mind.  I  have 
read  and  heard  the  statements  of  wiser  men  than  myself;  and  the 
result  is,  that  I  am  convinced  a  great  change  is  already  accom- 
plished, and  a  still  greater  is  at  hand.' 

"  He  enlarged  upon  the  power  of  the  press,  saying,  that  Mr. 
Wilberforce  did  not  abolish  the  slave  trade.  It  was  done  by  the 
press.  Nor  has  Mr.  O'Connel  with  his  Irish  Association,  nor  the 
Duke  of  Wellington,  nor  Mr.  Peel,  nor  the  king  of  England,  car- 
ried the  question  of  Catholic  emancipation.  It  has  been  done  by 
the  press. 

"  In  short,  he  pressed  this  great  doctrine,  which  is  so  clear  to 
us,  that  public  opinion,  under  the  powerful  direction  of  virtuous 
minds,  must  be  relied  upon  for  rendering  our  country  enlightened 
and  permanently  free." 

At  Philadelphia,  the  business  of  Mr.  Evarts  was  harassing  and 
delicate.  It  was  exceedingly  important  to  retain  the  good  will 
and  co-operation  of  the  Presbyterian  churches ;  and  indeed  the 
friends  of  the  Board  thought  themselves  entitled  to  that  aid  in  con- 
sequence of  former  transactions.  The  missions  and  other  respon- 
sibilities of  the  United  Foreign  Mission  Society  had  been  assumed 
by  the  Board,  with  the  understanding,  sanctioned  by  the  General 
Assembly,  that  the  co-operation  of  the  Presbyterian  churches 
might  be  relied  on  ;  and  his  nice  sense  of  justice  was  painfully 
touched,  when  he  found  leading  individuals  in  that  church  disposed 
to  withdraw  their  aid,  and  do  what  they  might  to  unite  the  whole 
body  in  the  exclusive  support  of  a  separate  organization.  But  he 
was  not  a  man  to  become  the  means,  even  innocently,  and   as  a 


LIFE  OF  EVARTS. 

wronged  party,  of  alienated  feeling  among  the  people  of  God,  if 
he  could  possibly  avoid  it.  His  aim,  therefore,  was,  to  prevent 
any  disturbance  of  mutual  good  will,  and  at  the  same  time  to  se- 
cure for  the  Board  continued  and  unobjectionable  access  to  the 
Presbyterian  churches,  for  their  sympathy  and  aid.  He  was  able 
to  leave  the  business  in  a  state  that  he  considered  pretty  good, 
though  not  exactly  such  as  he  could  wish. 

Early  in  June  he  was  again  at  his  post  in  Boston,  preparing  to 
go  through  the  summer's  work  at  the  Rooms  without  the  aid  of 
either  of  the  Assistant  Secretaries.  Mr.  Anderson  had  been  ab- 
sent nearly  a  year,  on  a  visit  to  the  Mediterranean  missions,  and 
Mr.  Greene  now  left  Boston  on  a  tour  of  inspection  among  the 
Northwestern  Indians.  The  Annual  Report  was  to  be  prepared, 
the  condition  of  the  Southern  Indians  was  pressing  upon  his  heart 
with  increased  urgency,  and  various  other  important  avocations, 
which  increased  with  increase  of  years,  occupied  too  unremittin-  - 
every  day  and  every  waking  hour. 

TO    MR.    I..    S.    WILLIAMS,  AI-IK-HUN-NA. 

Boston,  June  8,  1829. 

"  Your  letter  and  journal  of  May  4th  was  received  on  the  6th 
Inst.  It  is  gratifying  to  us  to  receive  such  evidences  of  the  presence 
of  the  Lord  with  our  missionaries,  and  of  his  blessing  on  their 
labors,  as  your  letter  furnishes. 

"  The  present  state  of  things  among  the  Choctaws  renders 
your  situation  and  that  of  your  brethren,  peculiarly  interesting 
and  responsible.  I  trust,  my  dear  sir,  you  are  duly  sensible  of 
this,  and  that  you  feel  the  importance  of  much  prudence,  fidelity 
and  zeal,  and  the  consequent  necessity  of  much  prayer  for  wis- 
dom and  grace  to  help  you,  in  dealing  with  the  souls  whom  you 
are  called  to  watch  over  and  instruct,  at  a  time  when  they  are  be- 
ginning to  awake  to  their  eternal  interests.  Those  especially, 
concerning  whom  you  hope  that  they  have  embraced  the  gospel, 
will  need  to  be  watched  over  with  more  than  ordinary  care ;  to  be 
guarded  against  false  hopes  and  premature  professions ;  and  also 
against  the  many  snares  and  temptations  to  which  they  are  and 
must  be  exposed.     The  importance  of  this  subject  is  increased  by 


334  LIFE   OF   EVARTS. 

the  considerations,  that  the  character  which  these  first  converts 
take,  and  the  tone  which  is  now  given  to  their  rehgious  feelings 
and  habits,  will  materially  affect  the  character  of  future  converts, 
for  years,  and  perhaps  for  generations  to  come. 

"  While  you  are  cautious  about  giving  encouragement  to  new 
converts,  or  pronouncing  them  to  be  such,  let  not  your  zeal  slacken 
about  others.  Now  is  your  harvest  time,  for  which  you  have  long 
prayed.  Now  is  the  time  to  thrust  in  your  sickle  and  reap,  accor- 
ding to  the  strength  which  the  Lord  gives  you.  You  should, 
therefore  be  instant,  in  season  and  out  of  season  ;  preaching  the 
word,  holding  up  the  truth  clearly,  affectionately,  and  pungently, 
before  the  minds  of  the  people,  pouring  simple  instruction  into 
their  minds  on  all  proper  occasions,  and  endeavoring  to  commend 
yourselves  to  every  man's  conscience  in  the  sight  of  God.  Your 
work  is  indeed  arduous,  but  your  encouragements  are  great,  and 
great  will  be  your  reward,  if  you  are  faithful  unto  death." 

In  a  private  letter  to  a  bereaved  correspondent,  dated  July  4th, 
Mr.  Evarts,  after  expressions  of  sympathy  and  the  suggestion  of 
topics  of  consolation,  aims  delicately  to  soothe  the  wounded  heart, 
by  fixing  the  attention  of  his  friend  on  the  good  to  be  done  and 
on  the  means  of  salutary  influence  within  his  individual  reach. 

TO    J.    H.    ESQ. 

Boston,  July  4,  1S29. 

"In  regard  to  your  departed  wife,  you  have  strong  consolations. 
She  gave  good  evidence  of  being  prepared  for  the  change  which 
she  has  experienced.  I  have  never  yet  felt  it  in  my  heart  to  wish, 
that  any  of  the  friends  of  God,  (however  dear  they  might  be  to 
me  personally,)  should  be  brought  back  to  this  world.  Though 
their  services  may  have  seemed  necessary  here,  yet,  when  God 
has  determined  the  question  of  their  residence  on  earth,  and  they 
are  fairly  discharged  from  further  responsibility  here,  I  cannot  but 
regard  them  as  having  made  a  happy  escape  from  a  world  of  sin 
and  woe. 

"  Let  us  not  mourn  for  them,  but  for  those  who  remain  ;  and 
let  us  strive  to  be  accounted  worthy  to  associate  with  those  who 
through  faith  and  patience  have  inherited  the  promises. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  335 

"There  is  much  for  us  to  do  while  we  remain  in  the  world  ;  and 
none  of  us  can  plead  that  we  have  not  a  sphere  of  action.  The 
minds  of  men  are  stirring  on  the  subject  of  religion,  and  the  press 
is  exerting  an  amazing  influence  upon  the  human  condition.  It  is, 
to  a  vast  extent,  under  the  control  of  bad  men.  And  what  is  much 
to  be  regretted,  the  friends  of  virtue  and  good  order  are  very  indo- 
lent, as  to  holding  profligate  or  heedless  editors  in  check.  This 
could  be  done  with  the  greatest  ease,  as  various  experiments  of 
this  kind  have  shown. 

"  1  hope  you  have  seen  our  pamphlet  on  Sabbath  mails  ;  but 
lest  you  should  not,  I  send  you  a  copy.  Let  me  solicit  you  to 
write  on  the  subject  of  the  Sabbath  for  one  of  the  Hartford  papers. 
You  could  do  it  well.  Let  me  ask,  also,  that  you  will  write  a 
full  and  elaborate  petition  to  Congress  on  the  subject,  to  be  sub- 
scribed and  transmitted  early  in  November.  There  is  a  great  ad- 
vantage in  having  petitions  written  with  care  ;  not  that  they  will, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  have  any  effect  upon  Congress.  But  they 
may  be  published  with  good  effect  in  the  places  where  they  were 
written  ;  and  they  afford  vantage  ground  to  advocates  on  the 
floor  of  Congress,  of  whom  we  shall  have  some  in  both  houses. 

"This  is  an  immensely  important  subject,  and  swells  in  magni- 
tude the  more  it  is  considered  and  examined.     There  is  more  and 
more  reason  to  hope   that  our  nation  can  be  made  to  see  and  ap- 
preciate the  value  of  the  Sabbath." 
• 

"  I  am  occupied  at  present,"  he  writes  in  August   to  one  of  his 

associates,  "with  the  following  things:  L  Consultations  and 
advice.  2.  Missionary  correspondence.  3.  Editing  the  Mis- 
sionary Herald.  4.  Examining  the  Treasurer's  accounts  with 
Mr.  Hubbard.  5.  Judging  as  to  candidates  and  new  applicants 
for  missionary   employment.     6.     Beginning  the  Annual  Report. 

7.  Writing  on  the  subject   of  the  Indians  two  numbers  a  week.* 

8.  Miscellaneous.  You  need  not  be  surprised,  therefore,  if  I 
get  sick,  or  have  a  bad  Report,  or  leave  some  part  of  the  mission- 
ary work  to  suffer  materially."     And  a  few  days  later: 

"  My  health   has  been  very   good  till  last  Saturday,  at  evening, 
when  1  was  over-worked.     Yesterday  and  to-day  1  have  just  been 

*  The  Essays  of  '•  William  Penn." 


336  LIFE  OF  EVARTS. 

able  to  attend  to  ordinary  business ;  and  I  do  not  see  that  it  will 
be  possible  to  write  on  the  Report  till  you  return.  Mr.  Whiting  * 
has  been  absent  a  fortnight. 

"  The  Indian  subject  is  attracting  more  and  more  attention  ; 
and  if  the  Indians  are  firm  and  quiet,  it  will  be  very  difficult  for 
the  government  to  remove  them." 

The  Indian  subject  was  "  attracting  more  and  more  attention  " 
chiefly  because  the  exertions  of  Mr.  Evarts  began  to  produce  their 
proper  effect  upon  the  public.  Under  the  impressions  left  upon 
his  mind  by  his  visit  to  Washington,  his  first  impulse,  as  we  have 
seen,  was  to  prepare  a  statement  of  the  case  by  way  of  testimony 
and  remonstrance,  and  leave  it  with  the  government. 

But  he  had  hardly  left  the  seat  of  government,  when  a  letter 
was  addressed  by  Gen.  Eaton,  then  Secretary  of  War,  to  the 
Cherokee  delegation  at  Washington,  in  which  the  policy  of  the 
administration  was  announced  and  positions  assumed  that  seemed 
to  Mr.  Evarts  to  be  at  war  with  every  principle  of  justice  and 
good  faith.  The  tenor  of  this  letter  precluded  all  hope  of  suc- 
cess in  any  appeal  to  the  government  in  favor  of  the  rights  of  the 
Indians,  and  served  to  awaken  public  attention  to  the  subject  in 
all  parts  of  the  country.  The  feeling  excited  and  the  comments 
called  forth  by  it,  encouraged  him  to  hope  that  an  appeal  to  the 
people  could  not  be  altogether  fruitless.  The  case  was  so  clear, 
and  he  had  so  much  confidence  in  the  fidelity  of  the  public  con- 
science, and  the  power  of  public  opinion,  that  when  he  saw  so 
many  indications  of  a  readiness  to  examine  the  subject  and  to 
sympathize  with  the  weaker,  the  injured,  and  the  threatened  party, 
he  could  no  longer  hesitate,  but  resolved  to  make  full  trial  of  the 
influence  of  the  press.  Accordingly,  he  prepared  himself  by  a 
careful  review  of  our  relations  to  the  southern  tribes,  and  more 
especially  to  the  Cherokees,  examining  the  numerous  treaties  en- 
tered into  by  the  colonial,  state,  and  national  authorities,  and  the 
state  and  national  legislation  and  judicial  decisions  bearing  upon 
the  question  ;  and  in  July  began  the  preparation  of  a  series  of 
Essays  on  the  "  Present  Crisis  in  the  Condition  of  the  American 

*  Rev.  G.  B.  Whiting,  missionary  to  Syria,  who  assisted  Mr.  Evarts  during  Mr. 
Greene's  absence. 


LIFE   OF   EVARTS.  337 

Indians."  The  first  two  papers  were  sent  to  a  friend  in  Washing- 
ton in  July,  with  the  following  note  to  the  editors  of  the  National 
Intelligencer  : 

"  Gentlemen :  I  send  for  your  paper  two  numbers  of  a  series  of 
Essays  07i  the  pending  and  ripening  controversy  between  the  United 
States  and  the  Indians.  I  hope  you  will  insert  them.  Permit  me, 
as  an  inducement,  to  make  the  following  suggestions  : 

"  1.  This  is  a  subject  which  must  be  abundantly  discussed  in 
our  country. 

"  2.  It  will  be  among  the  most  important,  and  probably  the 
most  contested,  business  of  the  21st  Congress.  Some  able  mem- 
bers of  Congress,  to  my  certain  knowledge,  wish  to  have  the  mat- 
ter discussed. 

"  3.  I  expect  to  make  it  appear,  by  a  particular  examination  of 
treaties,  that  the  United  States  are  bound  to  secure  to  the  Chero- 
kees  the  integrity  and  inviolabihty  of  their  territory,  till  they  volun- 
tarily surrender  it. 

"  4.  In  the  course  of  this  investigation,  I  shall  not  agree  with 
the  present  Executive  of  the  United  States,  in  the  construction 
which  he  gives  to  treaties  ;  but  shall  be  sustained  by  the  uniform 
tenor  of  our  negotiations  with  the  Indians,  and  legislation  for  them, 
from  the  origin  of  our  government  to  the  present  day. 

"  5.  My  discussions  will  not  assume  a  party  character  at  all ; 
and  whenever  I  speak  of  the  President,  or  the  Secretary  of  War, 
it  shall  always  be  by  their  official  designation,  and  in  a  respectful 
manner.  Though  I  think  that  the  President  has  greatly  mistaken 
his  powers  and  his  duty  in  regard  to  the  Indians,  I  have  no  wish 
concerning  him,  but  that  he  may  be  a  wise  and  judicious  ruler  of 
our  growing  republic. 

"  I  have  always  approved  of  the  decomm  which  you  have  ob- 
served, in  speaking  of  public  characters. 

"  6.  I  propose  to  furnish  two  numbers  a  week,  that  they  may 
be  copied  into  semi-weekly  papers,  if  their  editors  see  fit. 

"  7.  The  two  numbers  now  sent,  have  been  read  to  an  eminent 
civilian,  and  approved  by  him ;  and  I  shall  endeavor  to  be  careful 
in  my  principles,  and  accurate  in  my  conclusions.  At  any  rate, 
should  I  fall  into  error,  I  am  perfectly  willing  that  my  error  should 
be  exposed. 

"  8..  Should  you  insert  these  papers,  as  I  hope  you  may,  I  would 
request  that  there  may  be  as  little  delay  as  possible ;  for  there  are 
many  symptoms  that  the  country  wiU  be  awake  to  the  discussion, 
and  is  impatient  for  it. 

"  Li  the  mean  time,  permit  me  to  use  the  signature  of  that  up- 
right legislator  and  distinguished  philanthropist, 

"  WILLIAM  PENN." 

The  facts  brought  under  review  in  this  discussion  related  chiefly 
to  the  Cherokees  and  to  the  claims  of  the  State  of  Georgia ;  but 
43 


338  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

in  the  principles  contended  for,  the  rights  of  all  the  Indian  tribes 
east  of  the  Mississippi  were  equally  involved.  The  case  of  the 
Cherokees,  as  briefly  stated  by  Mr.  Evarts  himself,  was  as  follows  : 

"  For  several  years  past,"  he  says,  "  it  has  been  evident  that 
the  affairs  of  the  southern  Indians  were  approaching  to  a  crisis. 
The  increase  of  white  population  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Indian  ter- 
ritories, would  of  itself  lead  to  efforts  to  acquire  more  Indian  lands. 
But  the  rapid  improvement  of  the  Cherokees  in  civilization,  and 
their  taking  measures  to  render  their  civil  government  stable, 
caused  the  people  of  Georgia  to  apprehend  that  the  Indians  would 
so  thoroughly  understand  their  rights  and  their  interests,  as  that  it 
would  soon  be  impossible  to  purchase  their  country.  Hence,  from 
1820  to  1827,  efforts  were  constantly  made  by  the  authorities  of 
Georgia  to  obtain  all  the  remaining  lands  of  the  Creeks  and  Cher- 
okees which  lay  within  what  are  called  the  chartered  limits  of  that 
State.  The  lands  of  the  Creeks  were  obtained,  though  with  diffi- 
culty, and  by  a  process  of  bribery,  fraud,  ungenerous  importunity, 
and  unmanly  threats,  an  impartial  history  of  which  would  confer 
no  credit  on  our  country.  The  Cherokees  positively  refused  to 
cede  another  foot  of  land.  With  them  the  business  hung  in  sus- 
pense during  the  period  above  mentioned.  Lands  had  been  ob- 
tained from  the  Indians,  in  time  of  peace,  by  treaty  only.  The 
general  government  alone  was  authorised  to  treat,  being  invested 
with  that  exclusive  power  by  the  federal  constitution.  These 
principles  were  perfectly  well  established,  and  had  been  implicitly 
acknowledged  by  Georgia,  in  her  public  acts,  times  almost  innu- 
merable. 

"  In  December,  1827,  the  legislature  of  Georgia  asserted  the 
claim  of  that  State  to  the  Cherokee  country  in  a  different  man- 
ner, and  placed  it  on  different  grounds,  from  anything  which  had 
been  previously  attempted.  It  was  now  discovered  that  the  Cher- 
okees had  no  title  to  their  lands  ;  that  they  were  mere  tenants  at 
will ;  and  that  Georgia  might  take  possession  by  force,  whenever 
she  pleased.  A  long  report,  containing  these  doctrines,  was  adopted 
by  both  branches  of  the  legislature,  approved  by  the  Governor,  and 
by  him  officially  communicated  to  the  president  of  the  United 
States. 

"  Nothing  material  was  done  on  this  subject  during  the  last  year 
of  Mr.  Adams'  administration  ;  but,  on  the  18th  of  April,  1829,  the 
Secretary  of  War  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Cherokee  Deputation, 
in  which  he  told  them  that  Indian  nations  residing  within  the  char- 
tered limits  of  any  State,  were  subject  to  the  legislation  of  that 
State  ;  and  that  the  President  had  no  power  to  protect  them  from  it. 
This  annunciation  was  entirely  new  to  the  Cherokees.  It  was, 
moreover,  entirely  inconsistent  with  the  whole  intercourse  between 
the  Cherokees  and  the  United  States,  during  a  period  of  more  than 
half  a  century. 

"  As  the  last  session  of  Congress  approached,  a  petition  was 
prepared  by  the    Cherokee  council,  in  which  the  justice  of  the 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  339 

United  Slates  was  invoked,  and  protection  was  claimed  against 
the  encroachments  of  Georgia.  In  December,  1828,  the  legisla- 
ture of  that  State  had  passed  an  act  to  extend  the  laivs  of  Georgia 
over  the  Cherokees  residing  in  that  portion  of  their  own  country 
which  is  comprehended  within  the  chartered  limits  of  Georgia. 
The  act  was  to  take  eliect  on  the  first  day  of  June,  1830,  and  was 
doubtless  intended  to  convince  the  Indians  that  it  would  be  im- 
possible for  them  to  live  on  the  land  of  their  fathers.  No  meas- 
ure like  this  had  ever  been  adopted  by  any  legislature,  from  the 
first  settlement  of  this  continent  by  the  English  to  the  present  day. 
Nor  is  there  any  instance  of  a  State,  previously  to  the  act  of  Geor- 
gia, having  claimed  the  right  of  driving  peaceable  Indians  from 
their  hereditary  possessions,  and  dividing  these  possessions  among 
the  whites.  Since  the  act  of  Georgia,  the  States  of  Alabama  and 
Mississippi  have  adopted  the  same  principles,  and  with  a  view  to 
the  same  results." 

The  publicalion  of  the  argument  of  Mr.  Evarts   in   support  of 

i  the  rights  of  the  Cherokees,  and  against   the  novel  claims  of  the 

State  of  Georgia,  was  commenced  on  the  first  of  August.     The 

1  Essays,   as   they  appeared,  were  immediately  copied   into   other 

Ijournals,  and  were,  it  is   believed,  republished   more  extensively, 

I  and  more  generally  read,  than  any  other  series  ever  written  in 
this  country.  The  ablest  statesmen  and  jurists  pronounced  the 
^argument  to  be  one  of  the  most  perfect  and  triumphant  that  they 
had  ever  seen.*  The  clearness  and  cogency  of  the  reasoning,  the 
vivacity  of  the  style,  and  the  evident  sincerity  and  earnestness  of 
the  writer,  rendered  the  articles  attractive  to  readers  of  every  class  ; 
so  that,  although  the  discussion  was  continued  through  twenty- 
four  numbers,  and  necessarily  devoted  for  the  most  part  to  such  dry 
topics  as  the  construction  and  bearing  of  various  treaties,  and 
other  like  questions  of  international  and  municipal  law,  the  public 
attention  was  held,  with  increasing  interest,  to  the  end.  It  is  due 
to  the  subject  to  quote  here  a  passage  or  two,  showing  what  it 
was  that  Mr.  Evarts  was  called  to  contend  against,  and  upon  what 
principles  his  opposition  was  based.  The  passages  are  selected 
also  as  specimens  of  his  more  Impassioned  style  ; 

"  In  a  quotation  which  my  last  number  contained,  from  a  deci- 
sion of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  it  is  said,  '  That 

)*  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  of   the  United   States  Supreme  Court,  pronounced   the 
^    Essays  the  "  most  conclusive  argument  that  he  ever  read  on  any  subject  whatever." 


340  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

the  Indian  right  of  possession  has  never  been  questioned ;'  and 
that  '  it  has  never  been  contended  that  their  title  amounted  to 
nothing.'  This  decision  was  pronounced  in  1823.  Since  that 
time  the  pohticians  of  Georgia  have  strenuously  contended  that 
the  Indian  title  amounts  to  nothing. 

"  In  a  Report  of  the  joint  committee  of  the  Legislature  of 
Georgia,  which  was  approved  by  the  Senate  of  that  State,  De- 
cember 27,  1827,  are  found  such  passages  as  the  following  : 

"  The  Committee  say  that  European  nations  '  asserted  success- 
fully the  right  of  occupying  such  parts  '  of  America,  '  as  each  dis- 
covered, and  thereby  they  established  their  supreme  command 
over  it.' 

"  Again :  '  It  may  be  contended,  with  much  plausibility,  that 
there  is,  in  these  claims,  more  of  force,  than  of  justice ;  but  they 
are  claims  which  have  been  recognized  and  admitted  by  the 
whole  civilized  world ;  and  it  is  unquestionably  true,  that,  under 
such  circumstances, ybrce  becomes  right.' 

"  The  Committee  suppose  that '  every  foot  of  land  in  the  United 
States  is  held '  by  the  same  title. 

"  The  Committee  say  that  it  is  contended  that,  by  the  compact 
of  1802,  '  a  consideration  was  contemplated  to  be  paid  by  the  United 
States  to  the  Indians  for  their  relinquishment  of  this  title  ;  and 
therefore,  that  it  was  of  such  a  character  as  was  entitled  to  respect, 
and  as  could  not  be  taken  from  them,  unless  by  their  consent.' 
The  Committee  add,  '  But  we  are  of  a  difierent  opinion.' 

"  '  Before  Georgia  became  a  party  1o  the  articles  of  agreement 
and  cession,  [the  compact  of  1802]  she  could  rightfully  have  pos- 
sessed herself  of  those  lands,  either  by  negotiation  with  the 
Indians,  or  by  force ;  and  she  had  determined,  in  one  of  the  two 
ways,  to  do  so  :  but  by  this  contract  she  made  it  the  duty  of  the 
United  States  to  sustain  the  expense  of  obtaining  for  her  the  pos- 
session, provided  it  could  be  done  upon  reasonable  terms,  and  by 
negotiation ;  but  in  case  it  should  be  necessary  to  resort  to  force, 
this  contract  with  the  United  States  makes  no  provision  :  the  con- 
sequence is,  that  Georgia  is  left  untrammelled,  and  at  full  liberty 
to  prosecute  her  rights  in  that  point  of  view,  according  to  her  own 
discretion,  and  as  though  no  such  contract  had  been  made.' 

"  The  Committee  give  it  as  their  opinion,  '  That  the  right  of  soil 
and  sovereignty  was  perfect  in  Great  Britain  ;  that  the  possession 
of  the  Indians  was  permissive  ;  that  they  were  under  the  protec- 
tion of  that  government ;  that  their  title  was  temporary  ;  that  they 
were  mere  tenants  at  will ;  and  that  such  tenancy  might  have  been 
determined  at  any  moment,  either  by  negotiation  or  force,  at  the 
pleasure  of  Great  Britain.' 

"  The  words  printed  in  italics  are  thus  distinguished  by  the 
Committee." 

"  It  might  be  difficult  to  tell  which  is  most  remarkable,  the  rea- 
soning or  the  morality  of  these  extracts. 

"  The  Committee  argue  that,  as  there  is  no  provision  in  the 
compact  of  1802,  by  virtue  of  which  the  United  States  are  bound 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  341 

10  use  force  upon  the  Indians,  it  follows  that  Georgia  has  a  right 
to  apply  force  whenever  she  pleases.  This  is  one  specimen  of 
the  logic.  Again:  to  most  people  there  would  seem  to  be  weight 
in  the  remark,  that,  as  the  Indians  were  evidently  to  receive  a 
consideration  for  their  lands,  they  must  have  a  title  which  should 
command  respect.  But  no;  in  view  of  this  statement,  the  Com- 
mittee come  to  a  different  conclusion.     Here  is  another  specimen. 

"  The  morality  of  the  doctrines  inculcated  by  the  Georgia  legis- 
lature may  be  sufficiently  understood  by  the  broad  positions,  that 
discovery  gave  absolute  title  to  Europeans  ;  that  the  title  of  the 
original  inhabitants  was  permissive  ;  that  it  was  a  mere  tenancy 
at  will  (which  is  no  title  at  all;)  that  the  discoverer  might  deter- 
mine the  tenancy  at  any  moment,  by  negotiation  or  force ;  and 
that,  as  all  European  governments  are  alleged  to  be  agreed  in 
these  principles,  'force  becomes  right.' 

"  The  inhabitants  of  North  America  might,  therefore,  have  been 
rightfully  driven  into  the  ocean,  '  at  any  tnomentl  when  the  discov- 
erers should  have  been  willing  and  able  thus  to  drive  them.  It  is 
to  be  inferred,  that  Cortes  and  Pizarro  were  only  executing  the 
lawful  commands  of  the  king  of  Spain,  when  they  were  taking 
possession  of  Mexico  and  Peru,  which,  according  to  this  doctrine, 
rightfully  belonged  to  him  ;  though,  in  doing  so,  they  were  under  the 
unpleasant  necessity  of  murdering  the  original  inhabitants. 

"  The  Committee  are  entirely  mistaken  in  point  of  fact,  when 
they  say  that  '  ever}^  foot  of  land  in  the  United  States  is  held  '  by 
such  a  title  as  has  been  described ;  that  is,  a  title  in  the  European 
sovereign,  which,  on  the  moment  of  discovery,  supplanted  and 
subverted  all  the  rights  of  the  natives  to  the  lands  on  which  they 
were  born,  and  of  which  they  were  in  full  possession.  It  may  be 
truly  said  that  there  is  not,  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States, 
as  fixed  by  the  peace  of  1763,  a  single  foot  of  land  held,  as  against 
the  original  inhabitants,  by  the  title  of  discovery  alone.  Incom- 
parably the  largest  portion  of  the  territory,  within  the  above  men- 
tioned limits,  has  been  purchased  of  the  Indians.  Some  small 
portions  have  been  conquered  ;  the  original  owners  having  been 
nearly  exterminated  in  war,  or  driven  from  their  lands  by  a  supe- 
rior force,  or  compelled  to  cede  them,  as  the  price  of  a  pacification. 
But  in  all  these  cases,  the  wars  had  some  other  origin  than  an 
attempt  to  enforce  the  title  of  discovery.  The  politi'cians  of 
Georgia  are  requested  to  produce  a  single  instance,  after  the  set- 
tlement of  the  Anglo-American  colonies  commenced,  of  any  Eng- 
lish sovereign,  or  any  colonial  governor,  or  any  colonial  legislature, 
or  any  State  legislature,  anterior  to  the  treaty  of  the  Indian  Spring 
in  1825,  having  assumed  the  right  of  taking  forcible  possession  of 
Indian  country,  at  any  moment,  by  virtue  of  the  title  of  discovery, 
and  without  any  regard  to  what  the  Supreme  Court  has  called 
'  the  just  and  legal  claim '  of  the  natives  to  retain  possession  of 
their  country.  The  exclusive  right  of  extinguishing  the  Indian 
title,  or  what  has  usually  been  called  the  right  of  pre-emption,  is  a 
totally  different  thing  from  this  all-absorbing  and  overwhelming 
right  of  discovery,  on  which  Georgia  now  insists.  If  a  single  in- 
stance of  such  an  assumption  can  be  produced,  let  it  be  brought 


342  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

forward.  Let  us  contemplate  the  circumstances  in  which  it  origi- 
nated, and  examine  its  claims  to  respect.  Thousands  of  instances 
can  be  adduced,  on  the  other  hand,  of  acknowledgments  made  by 
emigrants  from  Europe,  and  by  rulers  of  every  grade,  from  the 
highest  to  the  lowest; — acknowledgments  which  admitted  the 
perfect  right  of  the  Indians  to  the  peaceable  possession  of  their 
country,  so  long  as  they  chose  to  retain  it. 

"  But  if  all  the  governments  of  Europe  had,  during  the  three  last 
centuries,  held  the  doctrine  now  so  warmly  espoused  by  Georgia, 
how  utterly  vain  would  be  every  attempt  to  defend  it,  or  to  make 
it  appear  otherwise  than  tyrannical,  cruel,  and  abominable.  Not 
all  the  monarchs  of  Europe,  nor  all  the  writers  on  the  laws  of  na- 
tions,— not  all  the  power  and  all  the  sophistry  in  the  world, — could 
alter  its  character,  or  convince  an  honest,  candid,  intelligent  man, 
that  it  is  entitled  to  the  least  respect.  What  is  this  doctrine,  so 
necessary  to  the  present  claims  of  Georgia  ?  It  is  neither  more 
nor  less  than  the  assumption,  that  the  circumstance  of  an  English 
vessel  having  sailed  along  the  American  coast  from  Cape  Hatteras 
to  the  bay  of  Fundy,  as  the  case  might  be,  gave  the  English  king 
an  absolute  and  perfect  title,  not  only  to  the  coast,  but  to  all  the 
interior;  and  that  he  might,  therefore,  empower  any  of  his  subjects 
to  take  forcible  possession  of  the  country,  to  the  immediate  exclu- 
sion and  destruction  of  the  original  inhabitants. 

"  In  the  history  of  the  slave-trade,  we  have  a  perfect  exhibition 
of  the  total  inefiicacy  of  human  law  to  sanction  what  is  flagitiously 
immoral ;  especially  after  the  eyes  of  mankind  are  fixed  upon  it. 
For  more  than  two  hundred  years,  the  principal  powers  of  Europe 
legalized  the  slave-trade.  The  judicial  tribunals  of  all  countries 
sustained  it  by  their  decisions.  It  was  universally  established  and 
assented  to.  But  was  it  right  ?  The  voice  of  the  world  has  pro- 
noiinced  its  irrevocable  sentence.  It  is  now  piracy  ;  and  to  have 
been  recently  connected  with  it,  is  indelible  infamy.  But  is  it  more 
clearly  wrong  to  take  Africans  from  their  native  land,  than  it  is  to 
make  slaves  of  the  Cherokees  upon  their  native  land?  or,  on 
penalty  of  their  being  thus  enslaved,  driving  them  into  exile  ? 

"  It  may  be  supposed,  that  this  is  too  strong  a  representation  of 
the  case ;  and  that  it  would  be  no  very  serious  calamity  to  the 
Cherokees,  if  they  were  to  come  under  the  laws  of  Georgia.  One 
would  think,  however,  that  the  spirit  of  the  report  from  which 
quotations  have  been  made,  must  be  an  indication  of  what  is  to  be 
expected  froui  Georgia,  in  the  way  of  systematic  legislation  on 
this  subject. 

"  One  law  has  already  been  enacted,  with  the  direct  view  of 
extending  the  jurisdiction  of  Georgia  over  the  Cherokees.  It  was 
approved  December  20th,  1&28,  and  deserves  a  particular  con- 
sideration. 

"  The  first  five  sections  divide  that  part  of  the  Cherokee  coun- 
try which  falls  within  the  chartered  limits  of  Georgia,  into  five 
portions,  attaching  each  one  of  these  portions  to  a  contiguous 
county  of  Georgia.  The  sixth  section  extends  the  laws  of 
Georgia  over  white  residents  within  the  limits  above  mentioned  ; 
and  the  seventh  declares  that,  after  June  1st,  1830,  all  Lidians 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  343 

'  residing  in  said  territory,  and  within  anyone  of  the  counties  as 
aforesaid,  shall  be  liable  and  subject  to  such  laws  and  regulations 
as  the  legislature  may  hereafter  prescribe." 

"  Sec.  8.  That  all  laws,  usages,  and  customs,  made,  established, 
and  in  force,  in  the  said  territory,  by  the  said  Cherokee  Indians, 
be,  and  the  same  are  hereby,  on  and  after  the  first  day  of  June, 
1830,  declared  null  and  void. 

"  9.  That  no  Indian,  or  descendant  of  Indian,  residing  M'ithin 
the  Creek  or  Cherokee  nations  of  Indians,  shall  be  deemed  a  com- 
petent witness,  or  a  party  to  any  suit,  in  any  court  created  by  the 
constitution  or  laws  of  this  State,  to  which  a  white  man  may  be  a 
party." 

"  Under  the  administration  of  this  law,  a  white  man  might  rob 
or  murder  a  Cherokee,  in  the  presence  of  many  Indians  and  de- 
scendants of  Indians ;  and  yet  the  otTence  could  not  be  proved. 
That  crimes  of  this  malignant  character  would  be  committed,  is  by 
no  means  improbable  ;  but  assaults,  abuses,  and  vexations  of  a 
far  inferior  stamp,  would  render  the  servitude  of  the  Cherokees 
intolerable.  The  plan  of  Georgia  is,  as  explained  by  her  Senate, 
to  seize  five  sixths  of  the  territory  in  question,  and  distribute  it 
among  her  citizens.  If  a  Cherokee  head  of  a  family  chooses  to 
remain,  he  may  possibly  have  his  house  and  a  little  farm  assigned 
to  him.  This  is  the  most  favorable  supposition.  But  his  rights 
are  not  acknowledged.  He  does  not  keep  the  land  because  it  is 
his  own  ;  but  receives  it  as  a  boon  from  Georgia.  He  will  be  sur- 
rounded by  five  white  neighbors.  These  settlers  will  not  be  from 
the  more  sober,  temperate,  and  orderly  citizens  of  Georgia,  but 
from  the  idle,  the  dissolute,  the  quarrelsome.  Many  of  them  will 
hate  Indians,  and  take  every  opportunity  of  insulting  and  abusing 
them.  If  the  cattle  of  a  Cherokee  are  driven  away  in  his  pre- 
sence ;  if  his  fences  are  thrown  down  and  his  crops  destroyed ;  if 
his  children  are  beaten,  and  his  domestic  sanctuary  invaded ; — 
whatever  outrage  and  whatever  injury  he  may  experience,  he  can- 
not even  seek  a  legal  remedy.  He  can  neither  he  a  party,  nor  a 
witness.  He  has  no  friend  who  can  be  heard  in  his  behalf.  Not 
an  individual  can  be  found  who  has  any  interest  in  seeing  justice 
done  him,  and  who,  at  the  same  time,  has  any  power  to  serve  him. 
Even  the  slaves  of  his  new  neighbors  are  defended  by  the  self- 
interest  of  their  masters.  But  he  has  not  even  this  consolation. 
He  is  exposed  to  the  greatest  evils  of  slavery,  without  any  of  its 
alleviations.  Every  body  is  let  loose  upon  him  ;  and  it  is  neither 
the  interest,  nor  the  inclination,  nor  the  official  duty,  of  the  Avhite 
settlers  to  defend  him.  Every  body  may  destroy  his  property ; 
but  nobody  is  bound  to  keep  him  from  starving  when  his  property 
is  gone.  How  long  could  a  Cherokee  live  under  such  treatment 
as  this  ? 

"  Accustomed  from  his  birth  to  feelings  of  entire  equality  and 
independence,  he  would  find  himself,  at  a  single  stroke,  smitten  to 
the  earth,  and  there  held  till  the  manacles  of  a  most  degrading  vas- 
salage were  fastened  upon  him.  As  soon  as  the  net  of  Georgia 
legislation  is  sprung  over  him,  he  is  equally  and  instantly  exposed 


344  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

to  public  persecution  and  private  indignity.  He  feels  himself  to 
be  a  vagabond,  even  while  standing  upon  the  very  acres  which 
his  own  hands  have  laboriously  subdued  and  tilled, — an  outlaw,  in 
the  house  which  he  has  erected  and  made  comfortable  for  himself, 
and  which,  to  a  white  man,  would  be  a  castle, — a  trespasser,  for 
innocently  treading  the  soil  of  his  native  forests, — an  intruder,  for 
drinking  the  pure  water  of  his  native  springs,  or  breathing  the  air 
of  his  native  mountains, — a  stranger  among  his  neighbors, — an 
alien,  on  the  spot  where  he  was  born. 

"  Who  are  the  human  beings,  thus  suddenly  brought  into  so  de- 
plorable and  abject  a  condition  ?  Are  they  Caffres  and  Hottentots, 
skulking  through  the  woods,  in  a  state  of  nudity,  or  covered  only 
by  a  few  shreds  of  tattered  sheepskin  ?  Are  they  runaway  slaves, 
pursued  by  the  vengeance  of  exasperated  masters?  Are  they 
Ishmaelites,  waylaying  the  path  of  inoffensive  travellers,  and  their 
hands  reeking  with  the  blood  of  recent  murders?  Arc  they  bands 
of  ruffians,  collected  from  the  worst  among  the  discharged  tenants 
of  our  penitentiaries  ?  Have  they  invaded  our  settlements,  driven 
off  the  inhabitants,  and  established  themselves  in  an  unrighteous 
possession,  of  which  they  are  now  about  to  be  divested  ?  What 
is  their  character,  and  what  is  their  crime,  that  their  lands  are  to 
be  divided,  and  their  persons  and  families  to  be  put  beyond  the 
protection  of  the  law  ? 

"  If  they  were  Caffres,  or  Hottentots,  they  should  be  dealt  with 
kindly;  and  should  be  compassionated  in  their  ignorance  and  de- 
gradation. If  some  of  them  were  Ishmaelites  and  renegadoes, 
they  should  be  tried  in  a  regular  manner.  The  innocent  should 
not  be  punished  with  the  guilty.  The  guilty  should  not  be  pun- 
ished without  a  trial ;  and  neither  the  innocent  nor  the  guUty 
should  be  delivered  over  to  private  malice. 

"  How  would  an  intelligent  foreigner,  a  German,  a  Frenchman, 
or  an  Englishman,  be  astonished  to  learn  that  the  Cherokees  are 
neither  savages,  nor  criminals  ; — that  they  have  never  encroached 
upon  the  lands  of  others  ; — that  their  only  ofience  consists  in  the 
possession  of  lands  which  their  neighbors  covet; — that  they  are 
peaceful  agriculturists,  better  clothed,  fed,  and  housed,  than  many 
of  the  peasantry  in  most  civilized  countries  ; — that  they  have  sus- 
tained diplomatic  relations  with  the  whites,  at  different  periods, 
from  the  first  settlement  of  the  coniiguous  territory  by  Europeans  ; 
— that  these  relations  have  ripened  into  a  firm  and  lasting  peace, 
which  has  not  been  broken  by  a  single  act  of  hostility  for  forty 
years  ; — that  the  peace  thus  cemented  is  the  subject  of  numerous 
treaties,  the  bases  of  which  are,  a  sovereignty  of  the  Cherokees, 
limited,  in  certain  respects,  by  express  stipulations,  and  a  guaranty, 
on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  of  protection  and  inviolate  terri- 
torial limits  ; — that  the  treaties  have  been  the  foundation  of  nume- 
rous legal  enactments  for  the  protection  of  the  weaker  party, 
whose  title  has  been  pronounced,  by  the  highest  tribunal  in  our 
country,  to  be  worthy  of  the  respect  of  all  courts,  till  it  be  legiti- 
mately extinguished  ; — that  the  Cherokees  are  not  charged  with 
having  broken  their  engagements,  or  done  any  thing  to  forfeit  the 
guaranty  which  they  had  received  as  the  indispensable  condition 


LIFE  OF  EVARTS.  345 

of  their  grants  to  the  United  States  ; — that  they  have  always  been 
called  brothers  and  children  by  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
and  by  all  other  public  functionaries  speaking  in  the  name  of  the 
country  ; — that  they  have  been  encouraged  and  aided  in  rising  to 
a  state  of  civilization,  by  our  national  government  and  benevolent 
associations  of  individuals  ; — that  one  great  motive  presented  to 
their  minds  by  the  government,  has  uniformly  been  the  hope  and 
expectation  of  a  permanent  residence,  as  farmers  and  mechanics, 
upon  the  lands  of  their  ancestors,  and  the  enjoyment  of  wise  laws, 
administered  by  themselves,  upon  truly  republican  principles; — 
that,  relying  upon  these  guaranties,  and  sustained  by  such  a  hope, 
and  aided  in  the  cultivation  of  their  minds  and  hearts  by  benevo- 
lent individuals  stationed  among  them  at  their  own  request,  and 
partly  at  the  charge  of  the  general  government,  they  have  greatly 
risen  in  their  character,  condition,  and  prospects ; — that  they  have 
a  regularly  organized  government  of  their  own,  consisting  of  legis- 
lative, judicial,  and  executive  departments,  formed  by  the  advice 
of  the  third  President  of  the  United  States,  and  now  in  easy  and 
natural  operation  ; — that  a  majority  of  the  people  can  read  their 
own  language,  which  was  never  reduced  to  writing  till  less  than 
seven  years  ago,  and  never  printed  till  within  less  than  two 
years  ; — that  a  considerable  number  of  the  young  and  some  of  the 
older  can  read  and  write  the  English  language  ; — that  ten  or 
twelve  schools  are  now  attended  by  Cherokee  children  ; — that,  for 
years  past,  unassisted  native  Cherokees  have  been  able  to  trans- 
act public  business,  by  written  communications,  which,  to  say  the 
least,  need  not  fear  a  comparison,  in  point  of  style,  sense,  and  ar- 
gument, with  many  communications  made  to  them  by  some  of  the 
highest  functionaries  of  our  national  government ; — that  these  Cher- 
okees, in  their  treatment  of  whites,  as  in  their  intercourse  with 
each  other,  are  mild  in  their  manners  and  hospitable  in  their  feel- 
ings and  conduct; — and,  to  crown  the  whole,  that  they  are  bound 
to  us  by  the  ties  of  Christianity  which  they  profess,  and  which 
many  of  them  exemplify  as  members  of  regular  Christian 
churches. 

"  These  are  the  men  whose  country  is  to  be  Avrested  from  them, 
and  who  are  to  be  brought  under  the  laws  of  Georgia  without 
their  own  consent.  These  civilized  and  educated  men  ; — these 
orderly  members  of  a  society,  raised,  in  part,  by  the  fostering  care 
of  our  national  government,  from  rude  materials,  but  now  exhibit- 
ing a  good  degree  of  symmetry  and  beauty  ; — these  laborious  far- 
mers and  practical  republicans; — these  dependent  allies,  who 
committed  their  all  to  our  good  faith,  on  the  '  guaranty '  of  Gen. 
Washington,  the  '  assurance  '  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  and  the  re-assurance 
of  Gen.  Jackson  and  Mr.  Calhoun,  sanctioned,  as  these  several 
acts  were,  by  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  ; — these  '  citizens  of 
the  Cherokee  nation,'  as  we  called  them  in  the  treaty  of  Holston ; 
— these  fellow  Christians,  regular  members  of  Moravian,  Presby- 
terian, Baptist,  and  Methodist  churches,  fellow-citizens  icith  the 
saints  and  of  the  household  of  God,  are  to  be  suddenly  brought  under 
the  laws  of  Georgia,  according  to  which  they  can  be  neither  wit- 

44 


346  ^^^^   OF  EVARTS. 

nesses  nor  parties  in  a  court  of  justice.  Under  the  laws,  did  I 
say  ?  It  is  a  monstrous  perversion  to  call  such  a  state  of  things, 
living  under  law.  They  are  to  be  made  outlaws  on  the  land  of 
their  fathers  ;  arid,  in  this  condition,  to  be  allowed  the  privilege  of 
choosing  between  exile  and  chains. 

"  But  who  are  the  men  that  impose  so  fearful  an  alternative  ? 
and  what  is  the  government  that  hesitates  to  redeem  its  pledge? 
Is  it  some  rotten  Asiatic  despotism,  sinking  under  the  crimes  and 
cormptions  of  by-gone  centuries,  feeling  no  responsibility  and  re- 
garding no  law  of  morality  or  religion  ?  Not  so.  It  is  a  govern- 
ment which  sprung  into  existence  with  the  declaration  "  that  all 
men  are  created  equal ;  that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with 
certain  unalienable  rights  ;  that  among  these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the 
pursuit  of  happiness."  From  a  government  thus  established,  this 
flagrant  wrong  is  apprehended ;  and  from  a  people  who  boast  that 
they  are  the  freest  and  most  enlightened  community  on  earth ; 
who  insist  on  the  right  of  every  community  to  govern  itself;  and 
who  abjure  the  very  idea  of  foreign  dictation." 

"  Government  has  arrived  at  the  bank  of  the  Rubicon.  If  our 
rulers  now  stop,  they  may  save  the  country  from  the  charge  of  bad 
faith.  If  they  proceed,  it  will  be  known  by  all  men,  that,  in  a 
plain  case,  without  any  plausible  plea  of  necessity,  and  for  very 
weak  and  unsatisfactory  reasons,  the  great  and  boasting  Republic  of 
the  United  States  of  North  America  incurred  the  guilt  of  violating 
treaties  ;  and  that  this  guilt  was  incurred  when  the  subject  was 
fairly  before  the  eyes  of  the  American  community,  and  had  attract- 
ed more  attention  than  any  other  public  measure  since  the  close  of 
the  last  war. 

"  In  one  of  the  sublimest  portions  of  Divine  Revelation,  the 
following  words  are  written  : 

"  Cursed  be  he  that  removetk  his  neighbor's  landmark :  and  all  the 
people  shall  say,  Amen. 

"  Cursed  be  he  that  maketh  the  blind  to  icander  out  of  the  way : 
and  all  the  people  shall  saij,  Amen. 

"  Cursed  be  he  that  2^(^n''erteth  the  Judgment  of  the  stranger,  fa- 
therless, and  tvidoiv  :  and  all  the  people  shall  say,  Amen. 

"  Is  it  possible  that  our  national  rulers  shall  be  willing  to  expose 
themselves  and  their  country  to  these  curses  of  Almighty  God  ? 
Curses  uttered  to  a  people,  in  circumstances  not  altogether  unlike 
our  own  ?  Curses  reduced  to  writing  by  the  inspired  lawgiver,  for 
the  terror  and  warning  of  all  nations,  and  receiving  the  united  and 
hearty  ATnen  of  all  people  to  whom  they  have  been  made 
known  ? 

"  It  is  now  proposed  to  remove  the  landmarks,  in  every  sense  ; — 
to  disregard  territorial  boundaries,  definitely  fixed,  and  for  many 
years  respected  ; — to  disregard  a  most  obvious  princijile  of  natural 
justice,  in  accordance  with  Avhich  the  possessor  of  property  is 
to  hold  it,  till  some  one  claims  it  who  has  a  better  right ; — to  forget 
the  doctrine  of  the  law  of  nations,  that  engagements  with  depend- 
ent allies  are  as  rigidly  to  be  observed,  as  stipulations  between  com- 
munities of  equal  power  and  sovereignty  ; — to  shut  our  ears  to  the 
voice  of  our  own  sages  of  the  law,  who  say  that  Indians  have  a 


LIFE    OF   EVARTS.  347 

right  to  retain  possession  of  their  land  and  to  use  it  according  to  their 
discretion,  antecedentlj^  to  any  positive  compacts ;  and  finally,  to 
dishonor  Washington,  the  Father  of  his  country, — to  stultify  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States  during  a  period  of  thirty-seven  years, 
— to  burn  one  hundred  and  fifty  documents,  as  yet  preserved  in 
the  archives  of  State,  under  the  denomination  of  treaties  with 
Indians,  and  to  tear  out  sheets  from  every  volume  of  our  national 
statute-book  and  scatter  them  to  the  winds. 

"  Nothing  of  this  kind  has  ever  yet  been  done,  certainly  not  on  a 
large  scale,  by  Anglo-Americans.  To  us,  as  a  nation,  it  will  be  a 
new  thing  under  the  sun.  We  have  never  yet  acted  upon  the 
principle  of  seizing  the  lands  of  peaceable  Indians,  and  compelling 
them  to  remove.  We  have  never  yet  declared  treaties  with  them 
to  be  mere  waste  paper. 

"  Let  it  be  taken  for  granted,  then,  that  law  ivill  prevail.  '  Of 
law,'  says  the  "judicious  Hooker,"  in  strains  which  have  been  ad- 
mired for  their  beauty  and  eloquence  ever  since  they  were  written, 
— '  Of  law,  there  can  be  no  less  acknowledged,  than  that  her  seat 
is  the  bosom  of  God ;  her  voice  the  harmony  of  the  world.  All 
things  in  heaven  and  earth  do  her  homage ;  the  very  least  as 
feeling  her  care,  and  the  greatest  as  not  exempted  from  her  power. 
Both  angels  ami  men,  and  creatures  of  what  condition  soever,  each 
in  different  sort  and  order,  yet  all  with  uniform  consent,  admiring 
her  as  the  mother  of  their  peace  and  joy.'  " 

In  the  midst  of  this  discussion,  it  was  necessary  for  Mr.  Evarts 
to  prepare  the  Annual  Report  and  attend  the  annual  meeting  at 
Albany,  where  the  duties  of  the  Board,  in  view  of  the  existing  re- 
lations between  the  government  of  the  United  States  and  the  In- 
dian tribes,  were  a  subject  of  anxious  deliberation.  No  sufficient 
reason  appeared  for  changing  the  course  hitherto  pursued  and  in- 
dicated in  the  preceding  pages.  The  plan  of  a  mission  to  China 
was  also  to  be  matured,  and  the  missionary  to  be  sent  out  under 
suitable  instructions. 

The  publication  of  the  Essays  in  the  newspapers  having  been 
completed,  they  were  immediately  reprinted  at  Boston,  in  a  pam- 
phlet, with  an  appendix  ;  and  also  at  Philadelphia,  at  the  expense 
of  that  eminent  philanthropist,  the  late  Roberts  Vaux,  and  others. 
The  author  soon  became  known,  and  was  at  once  recognised  as 
the  centre  of  the  general  movement  that  was  now  felt  throughout 
the  country.  Letters  of  thanks,  and  earnest  inquiries  what  was 
to  be  done,  came  in  from  different  quarters.  "  I  offer  my  sincere 
congratulations,"  wrote  Mr.  Vaux,  "  on  the  great  movement  res- 
pecting the  poor  Indians,  which  is  now  making  in  various  parts  of 
our  country.     It  must  have  an  effect.     Thy  labors   have  contrib- 


348  LIFE   OF   EVARTS. 

uted  essentially  to  this  public  sympathy  ;  and  the  judgments  of 
a  great  and  influential  class  of  the  people  are  unequivocally  pro- 
nounced. The  national  legislature  must  hear  and  forbear.  We 
have  had  a  large  edition  of  ihe  Essays  of  William  Penn  printed 
here,  and  I  wish  to  know  whether  any  copies  of  that  admirable 
work  have  been  sent  in  pamphlet  form  from  Boston  to  Washington. 
We  think  it  proper  that  each  member  of  Congress  be  furnished 
with  a  copy."  Another  eminent  individual,  still  living,  wrote  : 
'•  In  the  name  of  the  sixty  thousand  Indians  now  threatened  with 
ruin,  and  of  humanity,  justice,  religion,  and  public  faith,  I  tender 
the  highest  acknowledgments  to  William  Penn,  for  his  unanswer- 
able plea  in  behalf  of  the  tribes  in  question.  I  speak  the  senti- 
ments of  thousands,  and  indeed,  I  must  be  permitted  to  add,  of  all 
candid  men  who  have  read  this  plea,  when  I  say  that  it  is  abso- 
lutely unanswerable.  Rarely  indeed  is  it  possible  to  make  out  so 
strong  a  case  on  any  great  question  of  national  justice  and  good 
faith.  I  rejoice  to  learn  that  the  plea  has  just  been  presented  to 
the  public  in  a  pamphlet  form.  It  ought  to  be  distributed  in  every 
part  of  the  land."  "  Only  let  us  know  what  we  can  do,  and  I 
may  venture  to  promise  that  it  shall  be  done.  Oh  that  we  had  a 
hundred  men  who  would  go  through  the  land  with  all  the  fire  of 
Peter  the  Hermit !  "  Another :  "  We  are  to  hold  a  public  meet- 
ing for  prayer,  in  view  of  the  present  crisis  of  affairs  between  our 
national  government  and  the  Indians.  The  inquiry  is  made  with 
much  interest,  What  can  be  done  to  prevent  the  catastrophe  im- 
pending ?  What  can  we  do  to  avert  from  our  nation  the  sin,  and 
the  shame,  and  the  peril,  into  which  the  government  seems  deter- 
mined to  plunge  us  ?  I  write  to  ask  you  whether  any  measures 
have  been  proposed — whether  any  expression  of  public  feeling,  by 
memorials  to  Congress,  or  otherwise,  is  practicable  or  desirable." 
A  gentleman  in  New  York  :  "  I  beg  you  to  draft  and  send  me  such 
resolutions  as  may  set  forth  the  subject  in  its  magnitude,  and  with 
its  lofty  claims  upon  the  attention  and  sympathy  of  civilized  man, 
here  and  abroad.  I  know  of  no  one  here  capable  of  preparing 
these  resolutions  as  they  ought  to  be — no  one  indeed  any  where, 
but  William  Penn."  And  again  :  '-'I  rejoice  in  the  more  favora- 
ble aspect  of  this  Indian  subject,  and  in  the  occasion  there  is  for 
thankfulness  that  you  have  been  enabled  to  do  for  it  what  was 
indispensable,  and  what  Providence  had  prepared  no  one  else  to 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  349 

do."  To  the  duties  of  the  position  in  which  the  providence  of 
God  had  now  so  evidently  placed  him,  Mr.  Evarts  gave  himself 
up  to  the  utmost  limit  of  his  strength.  At  an  early  day  he  drew 
up  "  A  Brief  View  of  the  Present  Relations  between  the  Gov- 
ernment and  People  of  the  United  States  and  the  Indians  within 
our  National  Limits  ;  "  which  was  submitted  to  influential  indi- 
viduals in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  then  printed  and  extensively 
circulated  in  the  newspapers  and  otherwise,  with  their  sanction. 
The  object  was,  to  bring  within  a  convenient  compass  for  popular 
use,  the  leading  results  of  the  Essays  of  "  William  Penn." 

On  the  7th  of  December,  the  first  session  of  the  2lst  Congress 
was  opened,  and  the  next  day  Gen.  Jackson's  first  message  as 
President  of  the  United  States  was  sent  to  the  two  Houses,  and 
published  to  the  country.  The  positions  assumed  in  that  document 
were  such  as  to  justify  the  worst  apprehensions  in  relation  to  the 
course  which  the  Executive  would  pursue  towards  the  Indians, 
and  to  make  it  still  more  evident  than  before,  that,  if  the  rights  of 
those  Indians  and  the  national  faith  and  honor  were  preserved  at  all, 
it  could  only  be  done  by  the  most  strenuous  efforts  to  interpose  the 
influence  of  a  healthful  public  sentiment.  No  sooner  had  the 
message  been  generally  read,  than  the  way  was  prepared  for  pub- 
lic meetings  and  memorials  to  Congress.  The  people  were  ready, 
every  where,  to  give  their  attendance  and  their  names  ;  and  Mr. 
Evarts  exerted  himself,  by  active  correspondence,  to  have  the  pro- 
ceedings so  arranged  as  to  call  forth  most  generally  and  effectively 
a  full  expression  of  the  public  mind.  A  few  extracts  from  corres- 
pondence will  show  the  progress  of  events. 

FROM    E.    LORD,    ESQ.,    TO    MR.    EVARTS. 

New  York,  December  16, 1&29. 

"  I  write  in  great  haste,  to  say,  that  I  think  the  way  is  now  open 
to  have  a  powerful  public  meeting  on  behalf  of  the  Indians,  to 
petition  Congress.  I  wish,  therefore,  for  your  advice  in  relation 
to  the  matter,  and  a  draft  of  a  petition  as  soon  as  may  be." 

TO    E.    LORD,    ESQ. 

Boston,  December  19,  1S29 

"Your  letter  of  the  16ih  came  to  hand  this  day,  when  I  was 
sitting  at  the  preparation  of  a  petition.     I  wish  I  could  put  it  into 


350  I^IfE   OF  EVARTS. 

the  mail  this  evening;  but  shall  not  be  able.  Extraordinaries  ex- 
cepted, I  shall  put  it  into  the  mail  on  Monday,  and  you  will  re- 
ceive it  on  Wednesday  morning.  1  suppose  your  meeting,  from 
what  you  have  said,  will  be  on  Wednesday  night. 

"  Your  letter  encourages  me  much.  Let  me  advise  that  an 
accurate  account  of  the  meeting  and  report  of  the  speeches  be 
made  for  immediate  publication.  I  have  not  seen  a  single  state- 
ment in  William  Penn  contradicted.  Since  the  publication  of 
these  numbers,  the  government  has  forborne  to  deny  that  the 
Cherokees  have  a  right  to  stay  ;  though  that  right  is  nugatory,  if 
Georgia  may  extend  her  laws  over  the  Indians. 

"  Since  the  publication  of  the  Brief  View,  the  government  has 
altered  the  plan  of  governing  the  Indians  in  their  new  territory  : 
but  the  plan  of  putting  them  all  under  white  rulers,  in  one  gov- 
ernment, as  described  by  William  Penn,  was  urged  by  the  former 
Secretaries  of  War,  and  by  McK.,  as  may  be  found  in  many  docu- 
ments.    You  will  please  to  mention  this  to  Mr.  M.  and  others. 

"  There  is  one  great  evil  to  which  the  Indians  are  now  exposed 
— viz.  being  frightened  out  of  their  rights  before  Congress  and  the 
Supreme  Court  can  interfere  in  their  behalf.  An  eye  should  be 
had  to  this  evil  in  the  contemplated  public  meeting.  The  Presi- 
dent tells  these  tribes,  that  Georgia,  Alabama,  and  Mississippi  have 
the  right  of  bringing  the  Indians  under  their  laws.  The  Indians 
think  that  the  President  knows,  and  that  they  must  obey.  Num- 
bers, from  this  apprehension,  begin  to  remove,  or  to  make  prepar- 
ations for  a  removal.  This  is  represented  by  the  government  as 
proof  that  the  Indians  are  willing  to  remove.  And  thus  one  result 
of  oppression  is  made  a  plausible  excuse  for  continuing  the  op- 
pression." 

TO    E.    LORD,    ESQ. 

Boslon,  December  21, 1S29. 

"I  send  you  the  Memorial.  It  is  long.  You  may  make  it 
shorter.  It  appears  to  me  it  will  be  well  for  the  New  York  memo- 
rial to  go  into  detail,  and  to  be  published.  These  details  need 
respectable  names.  Afterwards,  short  memorials  may  be  sent 
with  effect  through  the  country. 

"Do  not  fail  to  write  me  the  result  of  the  meelincr." 


^  LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  35I 

E.    LORD,    ESQ.,    TO    MR.    EVARTS. 

New  York,  December  20,  1829. 

"  We  had  a  noble  meeting — nothing  untoward  of  any  sort  oc- 
curred— the  room  was  full,  and  uncommonly  respectable — and"  a 
very  deep  impression  was  made.  The  memorial  was  adopted 
unanimously.  Maj.  Fairlie  was  sick  and  could  not  attend.  Col. 
Trumbull's  services  in  the  chair  were,  on  the  whole,  to  be  prefer- 
red. Indeed,  nothing  could  have  been  more  unexceptionable. 
The  American  and  Daily  Advertiser  will  publish  the  Memorial  at 
length,  and  perhaps  some  other  papers  will  do  so.  The  speeches 
I  am  in  hopes  to  get  written  out  for  publication.  Maxwell's  and 
Ketchum's  were  eloquent  and  spirit-stirring  in  a  high  degree.  On 
the  whole,  the  meeting  was  a  successful  and  triumphant  effort 
in  behalf  of  the  cause.  I  have  received  many  congratulations  to 
this  effect  to-day — most  of  my  friends  being  aware  that  I  had 
taken  the  chief  responsibility  of  calling  it. 

"  I  am  relieved  from  a  greater  degree  of  anxiety  than  I  ever 
felt  before  for  any  matter  of  this  nature.  The  last  week  or 
ten  days  has  been  a  period  of  almost  sleepless  concern  and  exer- 
tion. So  many  were  timid  and  hesitating,  that  the  few  who  had 
promised  to  stand  by  almost  held  back.  The  men  fixed  on  for 
chairman  and  secretaries  from  day  to  day,  all  declined  or  were 
sick,  until  yesterday  afternoon  ;  and  at  last  I  was  told  that  I  must 
be  at  the  room  prepared  to  be  put  in  the  chair,  which  I  readily 
assented  to.  Just  before  the  hour.  Col.  Trumbull  was  seen  ;  and 
in  the  room,  Mr.  Sharpe,  connected  with  the  Dutch  church,  yield- 
ed to  my  solicitations  to  act  as  secretary  ;  and  finally  it  seemed 
not  only  to  me  but  to  others,  that  Divine  Providence  specially 
interposed  to  give  favor  and  success  to  the  arrangements  and 
proceedings  of  the   nieeting. 

"  I  shall  endeavor  to  send  you  a  copy  of  the  memorial  by  the 
next  mail.  I  directed  one  to  be  sent  last  night,  but  know  not  that 
it  went.  You  will  see  that  some  slight  amendments  took  place  in 
it. 

"  I  am  sure  you  will  rejoice  in  the  result  of  this  movement.  I 
confess  it  encourages  me  much  in  regard  to  the  Indians,  and  to  our 
own  government  and  country. 


352  I^IFE   OF  EVARTS. 

"  Several  thorough  going  partizans  (editors  and  others)  of  the 
administration  were  present  last  evening ;  also,  several  of  the  New 
York  Indian  Board.  But  the  meeting  was  too  numerous  and  re- 
spectable, and  gave  tokens  of  approbation  too  decisive,  to  admit  of 
any  opposition,  even  by  saying  nay  in  a  single  instance." 

TO    E.    LORD,    ESQ. 

Boston,  December  31, 1629. 

"  Your  letter  of  the  29th  came  to  hand  last  evening,  and  gave 
me  and  my  friends,  (some  of  whom  happened  to  be  present,) 
great  pleasure.  I  hope  we  are  thankful  to  God  for  his  kind  inter- 
position and  direction  of  the  business.  Two  copies  of  the  printed 
memorial  were  also  received. 

"  I  suppose  the  copies  of  the  memorial  will  generally  be  signed 
by  the  chairman  and  secretaries,  and  will  have  the  resolution  ap- 
pended, calling  upon  the  people  to  petition,  Stc.  We  shall  be 
glad  to  receive  a  multitude  of  copies  for  circulation  in  New 
England. 

"  You  have  my  sincere  thanks  for  persevering.  I  have  scarcely 
ever  been  deceived,  as  to  the  effect  of  measures  upon  the  public 
mind,  if  an  experiment  could  be  fairly  made.  The  only  diffi- 
culty in  this  case  is,  the  want  of  that  direct  and  personal  interest, 
which  shall  compel  the  people  to  think  and  act  upon  the  subject. 
Such  a  state  of  things  makes  it  necessary  for  the  benevolent  to 
work  hard  ;  but  the  labor  is  honorable.  Let  the  world  think  of  it, 
as  the  world  is  apt  to  think  of  measures  relating  to  the  great  and 
permanent  interests  of  mankind. 

"  Will  you  not  have  petitions  to  Congress  to  be  signed  by  indi- 
viduals, as  well  as  by  the  presiding  officers  of  meetings  ?  It  ap- 
pears to  me  that  the  cause  is  well  worth  the  trouble  ;  and  that  you 
may  find  active  committee  men,  who  will  undertake  the  service. 

*'  Let  me  suggest  that  you  and  twenty  others  should  write  to 
Philadelphia,  and  urge  a  public  meeting  there,  to  be  conducted 
under  the  auspices  of  able  and  enlightened  men.  Similar  meet- 
ings should  be  held  at  Albany,  Troy,  Utica,  Canandaigua,  &,c. 

"  As  to  prospects — I  have  great  confidence  that  the  measures 
of  the   Executive  will  not  obtain  the  sanction  of  Congress — that 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  353 

no  new  territory  will  be  set  apart  for  Indians — and,  in  short,  that 
nothing  of  a  positive  kind  will  be  done.  My  fear  is,  that  the  In- 
dians will  be  left  to  the  tender  mercies  of  Georgia  ;  that  they  will 
be  bitterly  persecuted ;  and  that  they  will  be  scattered  in  a  state  of 
despondency  approaching  to  despair.  I  think  they  should  be  en- 
couraged to  hold  on,  till  the  voice  of  the  country  and  the  deci- 
sions of  the  Supreme  Court  shall  compel  Georgia  to  do  them  jus- 
tice. If  they  do  hold  on,  the  struggle  must  be  a  long  one  ;  and 
intelligent  men  in  every  part  of  the  country  must  be  made  to 
think. 

"  You  will  not  impute  to  me  any  vanity  of  authorship,  when  I 
say  that  many  suggestions  have  been  made,  that  William  Penn, 
in  pamphlet  form,  should  be  extensively  distributed  ;  especially 
among  leading  men  in  the  middle  and  southern  States.  In  no 
other  way,  except  by  the  distribution  of  books,  can  many  of  these 
leading  men  be  reached. 

"  A  stereotype  edition  has  been  proposed." 

The  New  York  Memorial  (prepared,  as  the  correspondence 
shows,  by  Mr.  Evarts,)  was  immediately  printed  and  circulated  in 
all  parts  of  the  country.  Meantime,  he  was  actively  engaged  in 
preparations  for  a  public  meeting  in  Boston,  which  was  attended 
by  gentlemen  from  all  parts  of  the  Commonwealth,  on  the  21st  of 
January,  and  again,  by  adjournment,  on  the  8th  of  February  ; 
and  which  resulted  in  the  adoption  of  a  memorial  to  Congress,* 
and  in  the  preparation  of  a  Circular  Letter  to  the  citizens  of  Massa- 
chusetts, designed  to  secure  their  immediate  and  general  co-oper- 
ation. 

In  such  employments,  in  correspondence  on  the  subject  of  the 
Sabbath,  and  in  the  usual  duties  of  his  office,  he  was  occupied  at 
Boston  till  the  last  of  March,  when  it  was  deemed  advisable  that 
he  should  again  visit  the  seat  of  government.  He  arrived  at 
Washington  on  the  third  of  April,  and  was  at  once  in  habits  of 
daily  intercourse  with  those  members  of  Congress  and  others,  m- 
cluding  the  Cherokee  delegation,  who  were  particularly  interested 
to  sustain  the  rights  of  the  Indians.  He  found  the  aspect  of  the 
cause  doubtful,  and  the  month  that  he  spent  there  was  a  time  of 

*  Written,  also,  by  Mr.  Evarts. 

45 


354  LIFE    OF  EVARTS. 

intense  anxiety.  He  would  have  been  more  cheered  by  many 
favorable  indications,  and  by  the  inherent  strength  of  the  cause, 
but  for  two  considerations.  In  the  first  place,  the  Committees  on 
Indian  Affairs  in  the  two  Houses  were  so  constituted  as  to  give 
great  advantage  to  those  States  in  which  efforts  were  making  to 
remove  the  Indians.  In  each  Committee,  a  majority  of  the  mem- 
bers were  from  States  directly  interested  in  the  acquisition  of  In- 
dian lands,  and  on  each  Georgia  was  represented.  These  Com- 
mittees had  made  elaborate  reports,  fully  sustaining  the  policy  of 
the  administration.  Again,  the  measure  had  become  decidedly, 
and  in  spite  of  all  efforts  to  prevent  it,  a  party  question.  A  mem- 
ber of  Congress,  a  gentleman  of  some  influence,  and  chairman  of 
one  of  the  most  important  Committees,  was  known  to  have  said  : 
"  Sir,  we  have  succeeded  in  making  the  Indian  subject  a  party 
measure.  There  may  be  some  chicken-hearted  fellows  at  the 
North,  who  will  not  stand  by  the  party ;  but  we  shall  carry  the 
measure  in  both  Houses  :  and  in  the  lower  House,  by  a  majority 
of  perhaps  seventeen  or  twenty."  This  last  circumstance  weighed 
upon  the  heart  of  Mr.  Evarts,  not  only  as  inauspicious  in  regard  to 
the  decision  of  this  question,  but  as  an  instance  and  evidence 
of  political  depravity,  most  dishonorable  in  itself  and  most  danger- 
ous in  its  tendencies.  "  What  should  we  think,"  said  he,  "  of 
a  juryman,  who  should  predict  that  a  plaintiff  would  lose  his  farm, 
because  the  jury  were  resolved  to  decide  the  suit,  not  on  the  mer- 
its of  the  title  proved  in  court,  but  solely  with  a  view  to  the  effect 
of  the  decision  upon  a  certain  political  party  ?  But  the  present 
case  is  incomparably  stronger.  Here  are  75,000  souls,  in  15,000 
families,  whose  farms,  property,  residence,  attachments,  country, 
government,  laws,  habits,  customs,  everything  earthly,  were  to  be 
torn  from  them,  or  confirmed  to  them,  by  the  decision  of  Congress. 
The  same  decision  would  ultimately  touch  the  interests  of  two  or 
three  hundred  thousand  other  human  beings,  descendants  of  the 
original  possessors  of  this  continent.  The  decision  could  be 
properly  made  only  by  a  regard  to  what  is  right  and  just  in  itself, 
and  to  the  engagements  by  which  the  United  States  had  bound 
themselves  in  the  most  solemn  manner.  The  subject  was  not  a 
new  one.  The  government  had  acted  upon  it  in  hundreds  of 
instances.     The  current  of  precedents  had  been  perfectly  uniform. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  355 

All  our  great  men,  how  much  soever  they  had  differed  on  other 
points,  had  thought  alike  upon  this.  The  reputation  of  the  coun- 
try abroad,  and  with  posterity,  was  thought  to  be  deeply  impli- 
cated. Yet  all  these  considerations  are  disregarded.  The  whole 
matter  is  to  be  settled  by  the  simple  fact,  '  We  have  succeeded 
in  making  it  a  party  question.''  Who  could  have  imagined,  that 
a  member  of  the  American  Congress,  a  man  of  some  influence, 
and  who  supposes  himself  to  have  a  great  deal,  would  descend  to 
the  avowal  of  such  baseness  ?  And  how  deplorable  is  the  fact, 
if  the  declaration  which  he  made  was  substantially  true  ! 

"  The  friends  of  the  Indians  did  all  in  their  power  to  prevent 
the  question  of  Indian  rights  being  made  a  party  question.  There 
was  no  possible  inducement  for  them  to  make  it  one.  They  re- 
gretted extremely  that  the  administration  had  expressed  any  opin- 
ion upon  it,  and  had  not  left  it  for  the  unbiassed  decision  of  Con- 
gress. That,  in  the  actual  circumstances  of  the  case,  there  should 
be  some  party  influence,  seemed  inevitable  ;  but  that  a  direct 
attempt  should  be  made  to  set  aside  all  the  precedents  of  fifty 
years,  and  withdraw  the  guaranty  solemnly  given  to  dependent 
tribes  ;  that  all  this  should  be  attempted,  without  any  regard  to 
law  or  conscience,  treaty  or  honesty,  ought  not  to  have  been  ex- 
pected.    It  should  have  been  deemed  morally  impossible." 

The  following  letter  was  written  by  Mr.  Evarts  to  a  friend  in 
the  Cherokee  nation,  and  copies  sent  to  several  persons  in  the 
Indian  country  during  the  winter  : 

"  The  present  critical  condition  of  the  Cherokees  leads  many 
of  their  friends  in  this  part  of  the  country,  to  wish  that  they  may 
pursue  the  most  judicious  course  of  conduct ;  that  they  may  not 
lose  any  thing  by  rash  and  unadvised  measures,  on  the  one  hand, 
nor  by  negligence,  apathy,  and  discouragement  on  the  other. 

"Their  northern  friends  do  not  feel  called  upon  to  advise  the 
Cherokees,  on  the  question  whether  it  will  be  for  their  interest  to 
remove,  or  to  remain  on  the  land  of  their  fathers.  This  question 
they  ought  to  settle  for  themselves;  and  they  have  sufficient 
means  of  getting  knowledge  on  the  subject. 


k 


356  I^IFE  OF  EVARTS. 

"  We  feel  it  to  be  perfectly  right,  however,  to  make  suggestions, 
for  the  consideration  of  the  Cherokees,  in  regard  to  the  best  man- 
ner of  obtaining  from  the  United  States  the  fulfilment  of  all  trea- 
ties. It  is  for  the  honor  of  our  country,  and  for  the  benefit  of  all 
parties,  that  this  important  subject  should  be  settled  upon  correct 
principles.  And,  in  order  to  this,  the  Cherokees,  Choctaws,  and 
other  tribes,  should  bear  in  mind  the  following  things. 

"  1.  The  treaties  of  the  United  States  should  be  constantly  kept 
in  the  front  of  all  representions  on  the  subject.  They  should  be 
often  repeated,  and  in  a  tone  of  great  earnestness.  The  Indians 
should  not  be  satisfied  with  having  told  their  story  once  to  Con- 
gress. They  must  not  presume  that  their  story  is  fresh  in  the 
minds  of  members.  It  should  be  brought  forward  often  ;  and 
urged,  sometimes  in  the  way  of  complaint  against  intruders,  some- 
times in  the  way  of  soliciting  protection  for  the  future ;  and  these 
two  things  should  be  always  urged,  viz.  that  the  treaties  are  plain, 
and  that  they  were  always  confirmed,  according  to  their  obvious 
meaning,  by  agents  of  the  government. 

"  2.  These  tribes  should  have  some  of  their  best  men  at 
Washington,  during  every  session  of  Congress,  till  their  affairs  are 
settled  ; — men  whom  they  can  trust,  who  can  neither  be  deceived, 
nor  misled,  nor  frightened,  by  any  agents  or  officers  of  the  gov- 
ernment. Letters  should  be  written  to  these  delegations,  by 
every  mail,  keeping  them  well  and  truly  informed  of  the  state  of 
feeling  among  their  people  at  home. 

"  3.  These  delegations  should  employ  able  counsel,  and  in- 
sist on  being  heard  before  the  Committees  on  Indian  Affairs,  and 
on  being  allowed  to  produce  witnesses  to  show  the  real  condition 
of  their  respective  tribes  ;  and,  in  this  way,  they  should  detect 
and  expose  the  numerous  falsehoods  which  are  put  into  circula' 
tion  by  their  enemies. 

"All  these  tribes  should  understand  that  their  best  friends 
throughout  the  country  are  firmly  of  opinion,  that  if  the  govern- 
ment cannot  protect  the  Indians  where  they  are,  they  cannot  pro- 
tect them  any  where  else.  Let  the  Indians  themselves  be  fully 
aware  of  this  ;  and  if  they  ever  mean  to  make  a  stand  for  their 
rights,  let  the  stand  be  made  now.  It  can  never  be  made  so  well 
hereafter. 


LIFE  OF  EVARTS.  357 

"  You  can  make  any  prudent  use  of  these  hints ;  it  being  my 
sincere  desire  that  they  may  promote  the  cause  of  justice  and 
humanity." 

On  the  6th  of  April,  the  debate  on  the  Indian  Bill  commenced 
in  the  Senate.  Its  progress  is  detailed  in  the  journal  of  Mr. 
Evarts. 

"April  6.  Washington.  Received  letters,  which  had  been 
lying  for  me  at  the  post-office,  from  missionaries  in  the  Cherokee 
and  Choctaw  nations.  Mr.  Kingsbury  thinks  the  law  of  Missis- 
sippi worse  for  the  Indians  than  the  law  of  Georgia  ;  and  that  the 
system  now  pursued  will  prove  the  utter  destruction  of  the 
Indians,  whether  they  stay  or  remove.  He  supposes  a  majority 
of  Congress  will  be  against  them  ;  and  yet  he  is  unwilling  to 
realize  that  the  Indians  will  be  abandoned  and  sacrificed.  He 
cannot  see  whence  deliverance  is  to  come. 

"  I  went  to  the  capitol  rather  late,  and  found  Mr.  White* 
making  his  opening  speech  on  the  bill  for  the  removal  of  the 
Indians.  Nearly  the  whole  of  it  I  heard.  There  was  nothing  in 
it  which  is  not  perfectly  familiar  to  all  who  have  read  on  the  sub- 
ject. The  scope  of  his  argument  was  as  follows : — Great  Britain 
gave' this  continent,  to  a  certain  extent,  to  the  colonies  by  char- 
ter. She  did  not  consider  the  Indians  as  having  any  right  to  the 
soil.  After  the  revolution,  the  States  had  the  same  right  to  the 
soil  which  Great  Britain  had  before.  This  right  belonged  to  the 
several  States,  and  not  to  the  general  government.  The  treaty  of 
Hopewell,  (in  1785)  was  an  encroachment  upon  the  rights  of  the 
States  of  Georgia  and  North  Carolina.  They  protested  against  it. 
When  the  general  government  was  formed  under  our  present  con- 
stitution, the  States  acted  in  their  sovereign  capacity,  and  not  the 
people  in  their  individual  capacity,  or  their  aggregate  capacity  as 
a  nation.  The  constitution  is  a  compact,  therefore,  by  which  the 
United  Slates  guaranty  to  each  State  all  the  territory  within  its 
chartered  limits.  This  guaranty  to  each  State  is  anterior  to  any 
guaranty  to  the  southern  Indians,  and  inconsistent  with  it. 

*  Hon.  Hugh  White,  Senator  from  Tennessee. 


358  ^IFE   O^  EVARTS. 

"  The  treaty  of  Holston,  (in  1791)  contains  a  guaranty  to  the 
Cherokees  of  all  their  lands  not  ceded.  But  the  government  had 
not  the  power  to  make  such  a  treaty.  A  treaty  is  a  compact  be- 
tween sovereign  states — between  communities  foreign  to  each 
other.  But  the  Indians  were  not  foreigners.  They  were  justly 
amenable  to  the  laws  of  the  several  States,  so  far  as  the  States 
should  see  fit  to  make  laws  for  them. 

"  The  present  bill  makes  provision  for  the  removal  of  the 
Indians.  It  facilitates  their  removal,  though  it  does  not  constrain 
them  to  it.  Some  of  them  are  capable  of  making  good  citizens 
in  any  State  of  the  Union.  But  the  majority  cannot  live  under 
the  laws  of  a  civilized  people.  The  experiment  has  been  made 
by  Indians  on  the  reservations  of  previous  cessions.  They  cannot 
remain  with  the  whites.  The  provisions  of  this  bill  are  intended 
for  their  benefit. 

"  This  speech  was  extended  through  about  two  hours  and  a 
half.  It  contained  the  following  admissions,  which  will  not  be 
without  their  good  effect ;  viz. 

"That  it  was  the  policy  and  the  manifest  intention  of  the 
government,  from  1791  to  the  last  treaty  of  1819,  to  secure  to 
the  Cherokees  the  permanent  possession  of  their  lands  ;  and  that 
all  the  treaties  were  made  upon  this  basis.  The  design  was,  to 
make  them  a  civilized  people — first  herdmen,  and  then  agricul- 
turists. 

"  That  there  are  among  the  Cherokees  now,  and  perhaps  some 
within  the  hearing  of  the  speaker's  voice,  men  whom  he  consid- 
ered capable,  both  in  point  of  intelligence  and  integrity,  of  repre- 
senting a  State  on  the  floor  of  either  house  of  Congress ;  and 
whom  he  should  be  willing,  if  they  were  citizens  of  Tennessee,  to 
see  on  the  floor  of  either  house,  as  representing  him  and  his  fel- 
low citizens. 

"  That  he  could  easily  conceive  how  honest  men,  both  in  and 
out  of  Congress,  should  differ  on  this  subject ;  for  he  had  been 
formerly  of  a  very  different  opinion  from  the  one  which  he  now 
expressed.  It  was  the  consideration  of  the  rights  of  sovereign 
States,  that  wrought  this  change  in  his  mind. 

"  There  was  nothing  bitter,  or  provoking,  or  ungentlemanly,  in 
his  speech.     Nor  was  there  anything  striking    or  forcible.     I  ob- 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  359 

served  that  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  and  Mr.  Sprague  took  full  notes, 
and  paid  strict  attention. 

"  April  7,  1830.  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  commenced  his  speech 
this  day  at  half  past  twelve,  and  continued  it  two  hours  and 
twenty  minutes,  when  he  gave  way  to  a  motion  for  adjournment, 
and  will  finish  his  speech  to-morrow. 

"  He  began  by  expressing  a  regret,  that  the  President  of  the 
United  States  had  not  followed  the  example  of  President  Wash- 
ington, and  waited  for  the  deliberations  of  the  other  branches  of 
the  government,  instead  of  deciding  questions  which  it  did  not  be- 
long to  him  to  decide,  thus  endeavoring  to  forestall  public  opinion, 
and  in  fact  prejudicing  and  greatly  injuring  the  weaker  party. 
He  animadverted  with  considerable  severity,  upon  the  directions 
of  the  Secretary  of  War  to  bribe  the  Cherokee  chiefs,  by  tamper- 
ing with  them  privately,  and  offering  them  reservations  of  land 
and  other  rewards  as  the  means  of  bringing  about  a  cession  of 
lands. 

"  He  then  entered  upon  the  consideration  of  the  subject,  and 
contended  that  the  Indians  had  a  perfect  right  originally  ;  that 
this  right  was  admitted  by  the  British  government,  by  the  Ameri- 
can colonies,  by  the  confederated  States,  and  lastly,  by  the  United 
States,  in  all  treaties  with  Indians.  He  examined  the  treaties  with  ^ 
some  particularity. 

"  April  8.  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  rose  to  continue  his  speech,  at 
half  past  one,  and  spoke  two  hours  and  five  minutes.  He  exam- 
ined the  treaties  which  had  been  made  between  Georgia  and  the 
Indians,  and  showed  that  she  was  forever  debarred  from  denying 
them  to  be  a  separate  people. 

"  As  to  Alabama  and  Mississippi,  he  placed  these  States  in  a 
curious  predicament.  He  was  led  by  the  Report  of  the  Senate 
to  look  at  the  manner  in  which  these  States  were  admitted  into 
the  Union,  and  found  the  facts  to  be  these.  It  was  stipulated  in 
the  compact  of  1802,  between  the  United  States  and  Georgia, 
that  whenever  the  territory  between  the  west  line  of  Georgia  and 
the  river  Mississippi  should  be  formed  into  a  new  State,  it  should 
not  be  admitted  into  the  Union,  unless  it  formally  agreed  to  be 
admitted  upon  the  basis  of  the  famous  ordinance  of  1787 — 
(Nathan  Dane's  ordinance,)  in  all   respects,  except  in   regard  to 


360  I^^FE   OF  EVARTS. 

the  article  forbidding  slavery.  When  Mississippi  applied  in  1816, 
and  Alabama  in  1819,  to  be  admitted,  Congress  prescribed, 
among  other  things,  that  these  States  should  expressly  agree  to 
be  admitted  upon  that  ordinance ;  and  the  acts  admitting  them 
severally  declared  that  they  had  expressly  agreed  to  be  admitted 
on  the  basis  of  the  ordinance. 
1^  "  When  the  ordinance  is  examined,  it  is  found  to  contain  a 
provision  that  the  States  thus  admitted  should  never  encroach 
upon,  or  invade,  the  lands,  customs,  rights,  property,  or  liberty  of 
the  Indians,  unless  in  a  just  and  lawful  war. 

"  This  provision  was  pressed  hard  upon  Alabama  and  Missis- 
sippi, and  we  cannot  conceive  how  the  senators  of  those  States 
will  answer  him. 

"  On  the  whole,  his  speech  to-day,  was  entirely  triumphant,  in 
every  part.  It  pinched  very  hard.  Messrs.  Livingston,  Taze- 
well, Forsyth,  and  White  listened  with  constant  attention. 

"  April  10.  Yesterday  I  called,  for  the  first  time  since  my  ar- 
rival, on  Col.  McK.  If  I  could  have  avoided  it,  I  would  not 
have  seen  the  man.  He  appeared  somewhat  embarrassed,  when 
I  went  in.  He  introduced  me  to  Mr.  Bell,  of  the  Indian  Com- 
mittee. After  Mr.  B.  had  retired,  he  said,  '  Well,  you  have 
been  laboring  hard.'  I  asked  him  what  he  referred  to.  He  re- 
plied, '  In  writing  the  numbers  of  "  William  Penn  ;"  but  it  all 
wont  do — I  understand  the  whole  subject.  I  see  through  it  all. 
These  questions  of  abstract  right  are  of  no  use.  The  Chero- 
kees  are  like  children  in  a  house  on  fire.  We  must  pull  them 
out.' 

"  That  is  his  old  figure,  which  he  displayed  to  me  last  year, 
and  which  he  has  since  put  into  print.     He  went  on  : 

"  '  The  Indians  have  a  right  to  their  country,  a  perfect  right, — 
as  much  so  as  any  man  has  to  his  domicil ;  but — ' 

"I  interrupted  him  to  ask,  why  he  did  not,  in  all  his  writings, 
begin  by  saying  that  the  Indians  had  a  perfect  right  ?  Though 
exceedingly  impudent,  he  looked  a  little  embarrassed,  and  added  : 
*  It  would  do  no  good — it  is  not  in  the  power  of  man  to  defend 
them.' 

"  I  said,  with  emphasis  and  in  a  tone  of  authority,  Sir,  it  is  in 
r-  the  power  of  man  to  defend  them.     If  the  President  of  the  United 


LIFE   OF   EVARTS.  361 

States  had  sent  forth  a  proclamation,  as  General  Washington 
would  have  done  ;  if  he  had  said  with  firmness,  These  Cherokees 
shall  be  protected  ;  if  he  had  declared  that  the  laws  should  be 
rigidly  enforced,  and  that  the  whole  authority  vested  in  him  by 
the  constitution  should  be  exerted  to  preserve  the  national  honor ; 
— if  these  things  had  been  done,  not  a  Georgian  would  have  ven- 
tured over  the  line.  Is  the  world  to  be  told  that  we  cannot  en- 
force our  laws,  and  cannot  fulfil  our  most  solemn  engagements  ? 

"  He  said  that  there  had  always  been  trouble  from  intruders. 
[  admitted  that  there  had  been  some  inconvenience  ;  but  said  that 
it  is  now  much  diminished,  and  must  be  renewed,  if  the  Indians 
are  removed. 

"  We  then  talked  awhile  on  other  matters. 

"Saturday  evening,  April  10.  I  have  omitted  to  the  last  an 
article  of  intelligence  which  appears  to  me  very  sorrowful :  but 
Providence  may  have  something  in  view  which  we  cannot  com- 
prehend. 

"  Yesterday  a  letter  was  received  at  the  War  Office,  from  Mr. 
Kingsbury,  dated  March  22d,  stating  that  a  treaty  had  just  been 
signed,  by  which  the  Choctaws  engaged  to  remove  in  a  body. 

"  By  a  treaty.  Col.  McKenney  understood  a  formal  written  en- 
gagement that  they  would  form  a  treaty  as  soon  as  commissioners 
could  be  appointed  to  treat  with  them.  From  what  I  heard 
to-day,  I  am  inclined  to  think  an  express  was  sent  on,  a  week 
since,  with  a  commission  to  form  a  treaty. 

"  Mr.  Kingsbury  does  not  appear  to  have  been  present,  but 
wrote  to  secure  the  interests  of  the  mission  ;  as  he  was  told, 
nothing  had  been  said  on  that  subject  by  the  Choctaws.  I  can- 
not see  any  light  coming  out  of  this  event,  but  doubtless  light 
will  come.  The  anti-Indians  were  greatly  exhilarated  by  this 
event.  Copies  were  immediately  sent  to  the  chairman  of  the 
Committee  of  each  House. 

"  You  will  know  in  a  moment,  that  the  laws  of  Mississippi 
are  the  sole  cause  of  this  movement. 

"11.     Sabbath.     Mr.   ,   from  Connecticut,  preached  on 

the  nature  of  evangelical  repentance  and  the  obligations  to  it. 
He  showed  some  tinges  of  the  New  Haven  theology  ;  such  as 
46 


362  I^IFE  OF  EVARTS. 

were  taken  notice  of  by  old-lashioned  Christians,   and   such   as 
would  tend  to  impede  his  usefulness."* 

TO    REV.    C.    KINGSBURY,    MAYHEW. 

Washington,  April  12,  1S30. 

"  The  advice  which  would  have  been  proper  when  your  letters 
were  written,  would  be  entirely  too  late  now.  1  hesitated  some, 
in  my  own  mind,  what  would  have  been  the  best  course  for  Col. 
Folsom  to  pursue  ;  and,  indeed,  1  told  Mr.  Holmes,  when  I  saw 
him  in  New  York  about  ten  days  ago,  or  twelve,  that  I  thought 
it  most  prudent  not  to  attempt  to  execute  the  laws.  I  now  think, 
however,  that  a  better  plan  would  be,  not  to  pay  any  attention  to 
the  laws  of  Mississippi.  But  these  speculations  are  all  in  vain — 
it  would  seem  that  it  is  too  late  to  do  any  thing  for  the 
Choctaws. 

"  Last  Friday  morning,  the  9th  instant,  1  called  on  Col. 
McKenney,  of  the  Indian  Office,  and  found  that  he  had  just  re- 
ceived your  letter  of  March  22d,  stating  that  the  Choctaws  had 
signed  a  treaty,  and  that  they  were  all  ready  to  remove.  This 
was  the  first  notice  which  the  government  had  received  of  the 
matter.  It  was  very  sorrowful  news  to  me,  as  it  came  just  at  the 
time  when  the  discussion  of  the  Indian  question  had  begun  ;  and 
when  we  had  considerable  hopes  that  the  rights  of  the  Indians 
might  be  successfully  defended  in  the  House  of  Representatives, 
where  a  great  debate  is  expected.  I  will  not  say  that  the  friends 
of  the  Indians  in  each  house  will  be  disheartened  by  this  event ; 
but  I  fear  that  this  will  be  the  case. 

"  You  must  have  gotten  my  letter  from  Boston  about  the  time 
when  your  letter  was  dated,  in  which  I  advised  that  the  Choc- 
taws should  wait  and  have  the  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court. 
There  cannot  be  the  least  doubt  that  the  Court  would  pronounce 
the  laws  of  Georgia,  Mississippi,  and  Alabama  unconstitutional ; 
and  these  tribes  would  have  preserved  the  lands  of  their  fathers  ; 
but  if  they  remove,  it  is   impossible  that  they  should    ever   again 

*  Oa  this  subject  of  the  New  Haven  theology,  as  he  calls  it,  Mr.  Evarts  felt  deeply, 
regarding  the  peculiar  views  expressed  by  Drs.  Taylor  and  Fitch,  which  had  been  the 
occasion  of  much  controversy,  as  erroneous  and  of  very  pernicious  tendency. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  363 

have  a  good  title  to  their  lands.  They  will  always  be  obliged  to 
remove,  whenever  the  white  people  are  disposed  to  crowd  upon 
them.  Poor,  unhappy  people  !  If  they  knew  how  to  defend 
their  own  rights,  they  would  not  be  thus  injured  and  oppressed. 

"  I  wish  to  say  to  you,  that  the  leaders  of  the  Choctaws  should 
do  what  they  can  to  defend  the  interests  of  the  people,  if  they  do 
consent  to  a  removal. 

"  1.  Whatever  compact  they  make,  they  should  insist  on  its 
being  called  a  treaty,  and  on  its  being  ratified  by  the  Senate  of 
the  United  States. 

"  2.  They  should  insist  that  no  measures  shall  be  taken  for  a 
removal,  till  the  treaty  shall  have  been  thus  ratified,  and  till  the 
land  assigned  to  the  Choctaws  beyond  the  Mississippi  shall  have 
been  marked  out. 

"  3.  That  the  most  solemn  guaranty  shall  be  given  to  the 
new  country.  This  guaranty  should  be  by  treaty,  and  not  by  law. 
A  law  can  be  repealed  next  year. 

"  Though  I  suppose,  if  the  Indians  remove,  nothing  will  defend 
them  permanently ;  yet  a  treaty  will  defend  them  many  years 
longer  than  a  law  would  ;  and  it  will  be  much  better  security 
while  it  lasts. 

"  Again  :  if  it  should  appear  next  winter,  that  the  Choctaws 
were  frightened  into  a  treaty  by  an  apprehension  of  the  laws  of 
Mississippi,  it  is  very  possible  that  the  Senate  will  not  ratify  the 
treaty  ;  but  will  say  to  the  Indians,  remain  where  you  are.  You 
need  not  be  frightened  out  of  your  inheritance. 

"  Write  to  the  Missionary  Rooms,  immediately  on  the  receipt 
of  this,  if  possible. 

"May  the  Lord  guide  us  all,  and  make  us  blessings  to  the 
poor  Indians." 

"  April  12.  I  wish  more  petitions  on  both  subjects  [the  rights 
of  the  Indians  and  the  Sabbath  mails]  to  be  forwarded.  The 
sluggishness  and  cowardice  of  the  friends  of  the  Sabbath  are  amaz- 
ing. Col.  Johnson  said  in  his  place,  not  long  since,  that  there  were 
four  remonstrants  against  stopping  the  mail  to  one  petitioner.  I 
do  not  believe  this  ;  but  there  is  four  times  as  much  zeal  against 
religion  as  there  is  in  its  favor.     I  have  seen,  in  a  paper  just  come 


364 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 


to  hand,  notice  of  a  meeting  being  formally  called  at  Nashville,  to 
devise  means  of  banishing  Presbyteiianism  from  the  State.  It  is 
quite  likely  that  Mr.  Grundy  *  may  know  more  of  the  malignant 
opposition  to  religion  there,  than  we  are  aware  of. 

"  April  17.  One  of  the  Representatives  from  Alabama  told 
Coodey  f  that  every  shot  of  Mr.  Sprague's  speech  yesterday  told, 
and  passed  through  the  centre  ;  and  yet,  he  added,  '  I  must  vote 
against  you,  or  I  shall  be  scalped  when  I  go  home  ; '  meaning,  by 
his  constituents.  Now  what  can  we  do,  when  men  will  act  in 
this  manner?  The  question  is  already  as  plain  in  the  Senate  as 
any  question  of  human  conduct  can  possibly  be.  Not  one  ques- 
tion of  theft,  robbery,  or  murder,  in  ten  thousand,  is  so  perfectly 
free  from  all  doubt  or  cavil ;  not  one  bond  in  ten  thousand  that 
are  collected  or  enforced  by  courts  of  justice,  is  so  perfectly  clear 
of  all  dispute ;  and  yet  it  is  expected  that  men  will  vote  by 
platoons,  in  regular  rank  and  file,  according  to  party  drilling,  on 
this  question  of  public  faith.  I  have  never  before  seen  exactly 
such  a  commentary  on  human  depravity. 

"  May  the  Lord  avert  the  evil  we  apprehend. 

"  April  18.  There  are  some  things  exceedingly  dark  in  this 
matter  of  Indian  rights.  The  Choctaw  treaty  would  seem  to  have 
come  out  exactly  at  the  wrong  time.  The  fact  is,  that  the  gov- 
ernment, by  its  public  threats  and  its  private  agents,  has  advan- 
tages, which  it  is  pressing  to  the  utmost.  To  aid  in  this  disgrace- 
ful affair  of  making  all  the  powers  of  our  great  nation  bear  down 
upon  the  rights  of  these  feeble  tribes,  Mr.  Attorney  General  has 
given  an  opinion  that  all  the  separate  improvements  left  by  emi- 
grants, belong  to  Georgia  ;  and  of  course  it  follows  that  Geor- 
gians settling  on  these  relinquished  improvements,  are  not  intruders. 
This  single  opinion,  if  practised  upon,  would  drive  all  the  south- 
ern tribes  away  in  three  years.  Words  are  very  feeble  to  express 
the  indignation  and  abhorrence  in  which  these  tricks  should  be 
held  by  every  honorable  man. 

"  The  Choctaw  treaty  is  in   the  President's  hands ;  I   do  not 

*  Hon.  Felix  Grundy,  Senator  from  Tennessee,  who  had  been  urged,  as  a  religious 
man,  to  aid  the  petitioners  for  the  discontinuance  of  Sabbath  mails,  and  had  declined, 
under  the  influence  of  political  friends. 

t  One  of  the  Cherokee  delegation,  at  Washington. 


LIFE   OF  .EVARTS.  365 

think  it  will  be  ratified  ;  for  I  think  that  more  than  one  third  of 
the  Senators  will  pronounce  it  to  have  been  obtained  under  the 
influence  of  terror  or  misapprehension. 

"  I  think  of  going  to  Richmond,  by  way  of  Norfolk,  next  Fri- 
day.* My  cough  is  so  obstinate,  and  my  lungs  so  irritated  and 
irritable,  that  I  shall  not  speak  on  missions  in  public. 

"  Norfolk,  April  25.  As  to  the  causes  which  have  operated  to 
bring  up  this  discussion,  so  as  to  make  anything  like  a  stand  against 
the  measures  of  government,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  publica- 
tion of  William  Penn  is  by  far  more  operative  than  any  other. 
Mr.  F.  has  told  me  that  nothing  would  have  been  done  without 
it.  And  it  is  curious  that  it  should  have  been  published  in  the 
very  best  conceivable  way  :  first,  in  the  Intelligencer  ;  then  in 
other  papers  ;  then  in  a  pamphlet.  I  found  most  abundant  proof, 
that  the  distribution  of  the  pamphlet  among  members  of  Congress 
had  been  very  useful  ;  not  that  1  suppose  all,  or  even  half,  had 
read  it  with  any  attention  ;  but  many  had,  and  especially  those 
who  had  the  ability  to  influence  others. 

"  The  next  cause  was,  the  having  such  a  man  in  the  Senate  as 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen.  Without  his  exertions,  I  think  no  regular 
opposition  to  the  bill  would  have  been  made  in  the  Senate.  As 
the  case  now  is,  the  discussion  has  gained  much  attention,  and  will 
command  much  more  ;  but  how  much  it  will  avail  the  poor  Indians, 
cannot  be  foreseen. 

"  As  to  the  operative  causes  on  the  other  side,  they  are  these  n 
two  :  1.  The  southern  interest,  and  the  pledges  of  the  President ,' k 
to  support  it.  2.  The  effort  to  preserve  the  integrity  of  the  Jack- 
son party.  Both  these  very  powerful  principles  are  in  constant' 
operation  against  the  Indians  ;  and  they  are  opposed  only  by  a 
love  of  justice  and  a  sense  of  integrity,  with  some  little  sense  of 
shame  ;  and,  on  the  part  of  a  few,  some  little  dread  of  unpopularity. 

"As  to  the  Indian  Board  of  New  York,  and  the  Baptist  Board 
of  Boston,  and  the  writings  of  Cass,f  &c.,  they  do  not  all    weigh 

*  To  meet  members  of  his  family. 

t  Tlie  first  named  Board  was  a  short-lived  organization,  formed  for  the  purpose  of 
aiding  the  policy  of  the  Executive,  and  the  other  had  talcen  the  same  position.  Gen. 
Cass  had  written  an  article  for  the  North  American  Review,  in  which,  in  opposition  to 
views  expressed  by  himself  in  the  same  Journal  a  few  years  before,  he  had,  with  sin- 
gular inconsistency,  endeavored  to  sustain  those  in  power  in  their  positions. 


i< 


366  I^IFE   OF  EVARTS. 

a  single  feather  ;  or,  if  ihey  do,  I   am   not  able  to  perceive  any 
evidence  of  the  fact. 

"  Among  the  causes  favorable  to  the  Indians,  should  be  men- 
tioned the  memorials  in  their  behalf.  These  memorials  have  done 
much  toward  directing  attention  to  the  subject,  and  compelling 
members  to  think  of  it ;  and  it  may  be  said  with  great  confidence, 
that  if  the  people  in  the  northern,  middle,  and  western  States  had 
entered,  with  as  much  spirit  as  became  them,  into  the  business  of 
j)etitioning,  they  might  have  secured  the  Indians  forever  in  their 
rights.  If  this  cause  fails  of  a  perfect  and  most  triumphant  vin- 
dication, it  will  fail  solely  from  the  apathy,  and  lukewarmness,  and 
timidity,  and  laziness  of  those  who  are  really  friendly  to  the  Indians, 
and  would  gladly  preserve  our  national  failh  inviolate. 

"  Richmond,  April  28,  1830.  Did  not  learn  the  disposition  of 
the  Indian  bill  in  the  Senate  till  this  morning  ;  am  greatly  dis- 
tressed and  mortified,  for  our  country's  sake,  that  the  vote  stands 
worse  than  1  had  thought  in  any  degree  probable. 

"  It  seems  tiiat  all  the  Jackson  men,  (with  the  exception  of 
Gen.  Smith,  who  was  absent.)  voted  for  the  bill  and  against  the 
amendments,  except  that  Mr.  Barnard  voted  for  the  most  impor- 
tant amendments,  as  he  had  said  he  should  do.  And  besides  this 
organized  and  unbroken  party,  three  Adams  men  joined  them  on 
every  vote.  In  regard  to  each  of  these  men,  we  had  some  mis- 
givings at  times  ;  but  the  case  was  so  clear,  that  I  could  not  think 
it  probable  that  more  than  one  out  of  the  three  would  prove  recre- 
ant to  the  cause  of  justice,  and  honor,  and  good  faith. 

"  Votes  against  the  Indians  :  States  directly  interested, 
and  pledged  by  doings  of  the  State  Legislatures, 
namely, — Georgia,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  North  Car- 
olina, and  Tennessee, — all  slave  States,  10 

''  The  slave  States  of  Lousiana,  South  Carolina,  Vir- 
ginia, and  Kentucky,  8 

"  Free  States  of  Illinois,  Indiana,  and  New  York,  6 

"  Half   of   Missouri,   Pennsylvania,   New    Jersey,   and 

New  Hampshire,  4 

28 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 


367 


:J 


"  Without  that  disregard   of  human  rights  which  is  to  be  found 
among  slave-holders  only,  nothing  could  have   been  done   against 
the  Indians  ;  and  without  the  base  surrender  of  all   personal   dig-     X 
nity  and  independence  to  the  capricious   mandate   of  party  disci- 
pline, the  slave-holders  would   not   have  received  aid    enough  to, 
carry  their  point. 

"  When  I  left  Washington,  our  hopes  were  strong  in  regard  to 
the  House  of  Representatives.  But  from  the  specimen  of  the 
strength  of  party  bonds  in  the  Senate,  I  augur  ill  of  the  House. 

"  It  will  be  no  matter  of  surprise,  if  the  bill  should  be  crowded 
onward  by  far  inferior  business,  till  a  few  days  before  the  close  of 
the  session,  and  then  urged  through  by  the  previous   question.     I 
would  have  every  thing  done  that  can  be  done  ;  but  it  seems  as  if\Jb 
Providence  was  at  war  with  the  Indians  ;  and  that  very  little  sue- j 
cess  is  likely  to  attend  efforts   made  in   their  behalf.     The  Lord  1 
will  vindicate  his  own  plan  ;  though  many  of  his  doings  are  inscru-J 
table  to  us. 

"  If  the  misdeeds  of  our  rulers  could  fall  directly  and  heavily 
upon  the  electors,  who  send  mere  machines,  instead  of  men,  and 
worthless  demagogues,  instead  of  reflecting,  responsible  statesmen, 
there  would  be  some  consolation  in  it,  and  a  remedy  might  be 
hoped  for;  but  the  evil  falls  generally  on  the  innocent,  or  those 
who  are  least  deserving  of  ill. 

"  I  have  conversed  with  many  men  of  sense  in  regard  to  the 
monstrous  evils  attending  our  government ;  and  they  all  say  there 
is  no  hope  of  relief,  except  by  means  of  raising  the  moral  and  in--?  ' 
tellectual  character  of  the  common  people.  How  this  is  to  be  ^"^  • 
done,  with  all  the  demoralizing  and  deteriorating  processes  now  at 
work,  is  not  very  easily  seen  ;  especially  when  we  consider  how 
tame  and  timid,  and  how  vacillating  and  inconstant — how  yield- 
ing and  compromising — nine  tenths  of  even  the  religious  people 
are  on  all  political  questions  which  involve  moral  and  religious 
cortsiderations. 

"  The  Lord  knows  how  to  hush  all  these  contending  elements 
to  peace.  May  he  soon  exert  his  power,  and  subdue  the  world  to 
himself. 

"Richmond,  May  29,  1830.  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  wrote  to  me 
a  line  after  the  vote  on  Saturday,  in  which  he  said   he   felt  very 


368 


LIFE   OF   EVARTS. 


sad.  1  do  not  wonder  that  he  did.  The  framers  of  the  Consti- 
tution placed  more  confidence  in  the  Senate,  probably,  than  in  any- 
other  part  of  the  complicated  machine  of  our  government — not 
even  excepting  the  Supreme  Court.  The  Senate  was  designed 
to  be  the  special  guardian  of  the  faith  and  honor  of  the  United 
States  ;  and  if  this  guardian  proves  faithless  to  its  high  trust,  where 
can  we  look  for  redress  ?  The  Supreme  Court  is,  indeed,  the 
tribunal  where  the  proper  interpretation  of  treaties  is  to  be  sought ; 
but  in  nine  instances  out  of  ten,  the  mischfef  of  violated  faith 
will  be  done  before  the  decision  of  that  Court  can  be  had,  and 
the  evil   is  therefore  remediless." 

No  language,  Mr.  Evarts  said  on  another  occasion,  could  do 
justice  to  the  feelings  of  the  friends  of  the  Indians  after  this  vole. 
*'  They  viewed  the  measure  as  altogether  unparalleled  in  the  his- 
tory of  free  governments.  The  smallness  of  the  temptation  to 
such  an  outrageous  breach  of  faith  seemed  to  render  the  whole 
business  unaccountable.  Bonaparte  might  be  expected  to  break 
two  or  three  treaties  with  Spain  and  Holland,  for  the  sake  of 
bringing  millions  of  men  and  hundreds  of  millions  of  money  un- 
der his  control.  Here  was  a  great  temptation.  But  we  have 
broken  scores  of  treaties  with  dependent  Indians,  and  descended 
to  the  most  pitiful  subterfuges  and  evasions,  not  to  augment  our 
national  power  and  resources — not  to  avoid  any  danger — but  sim- 
ply to  appease  a  groundless  clamor,  and  make  an  insignificant  ac- 
quisition of  new  lands." 

"May  1.  Richmond.  Went  with  Dr.  Rice  to  Chief  Justice 
Marshall's,  and  was  received  by  him  with  his  accustomed  affabil- 
ity. He  is  very  plain  in  his  manners,  his  dress,  and  his  mode  of 
living.  Though  slender  in  person,  the  freshness  of  his  counte- 
nance and  the  liveliness  of  his  eye  indicate  good  health.  He  is 
now  seventy-three  years  old.  I  was  exceedingly  glad  to  have 
it  in  my  power  to  pay  my  respects  to  this  venerable  man.  The 
most  visible  traits  in  his  character  are  simplicity  and  modesty.  I 
introduced  several  topics  on  which  I  supposed  there  would  be  no 
impropriety  in  his  expressing  an  opinion,  but  said  nothing  about 
the  Indian  question,  for  obvious  reasons." 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  359 

''  The  interest  on  the  Indian  question  has  rather  increased  than 
otherwise,  since  I  left  Washington.  Many  hopes  are  entertained 
that  the  bill  will  be  defeated  in  the  lower  house.  I  confess  I  have 
very  few  hopes.  Still,  every  effort  is  to  be  made.  The  friends  of 
the  Indians  suppose  that  some  members  would  rather  leave  the 
subject  without  acting  upon  it  till  next  session,  than  vote  against 
the  bill  now  ;  especially  they  think  this  will  be  the  case  after  two 
or  three  days  discussion." 

On  the  5th,  Mr.  Evarts  returned  to  Washington,  to  resume  his 
labors  at  that  post  of  anxious  observation. 

"7.  lam  recovered  of  the  irritation  of  my  lungs,  and  am  as 
well  as  usual  ;  but  think  I  must  ride  a  good  deal  on  horse-back 
the  coming  summer." 

"  May  8,  1830.  This  day  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  called  up  his 
resolution  in  relation  to  Sabbath  mails,  and,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  I 
was  absent.  It  appeared  very  unlikely  that  he  would  be  able 
to  do  this,  as  some  unfinished  business  of  importance,  it  was  sup- 
posed, would  occupy  the  time. 

"  I  have  heard  from  a  spectator,  that  he  spoke  an  hour  and  a 
half,  or  more,  and  very  much  to  the  purpose.  Mr.  Livingston  re- 
plied, in  a  speech  of  three  quarters  of  an  hour,  in  which  he  gained 
no  credit.  It  was  a  low  piece  of  bar-room  talk  about  church  and 
state,  the  blue  laws  of  Connecticut,  hanging  witches  at  Salem, 
&;c.  he.  Mr.  F.,  in  a  short  reply,  made  Mr.  L.  rather  ashamed 
of  his  tirade. 

"  On  motion  of  Mr.  Bibb,  the  resolution  was  laid  on  the  table, 
where  it  will  probably  always  lie.  Considering  the  state  of  feeling 
here,  no  better  course  on  this  subject  could  be  pursued,  than  the 
one  which  has  been  pursued.  I  consider  it  certain,  that  nothing 
will  be  done  by  Congress  to  gratify  the  petitioners,  till  the  people 
are  better  ;  and  especially,  till  the  religious  community  are  more 
spirited  and  more  united  on  the  subject.  Dr.  Rice  is  of  opin- 
ion, that  while  we  petition  without  any  well  grounded  hope  of 
success,  the  effect  is  to  unite  the  wicked  and  make  them  feel  their 
own  strength,  and  get  them  more  and  more  committed  against  the 
Gospel.  The  religious  community,  if  sufficiently  active  and  uni- 
47 


370  LIFE   OF  EVART3. 

ted,  could  carry  their  point ;  but  as  they  will  be  neither  active  nor 
united,  the  case  is  very  difierent. 

"Monday  May  10.  I  have  been  in  doubt  whether  I  ought  to 
set  out  for  home  next  Friday,  or  to  stay  longer  for  the  sake  of 
hearing  the  debate  on  the  Indian  question. 

"  The  arguments  for  setting  out  are,  that  we  should  rather  be 
at  home — that  I  might  be  there  during  election  week — that  I  wish 
to  be  there  in  season  for  writing  on  the  Indian  question,*  Sec.  &z;c. 

"  On  the  other  hand,  as  I  shall  have  staid  till  the  discussion 
begins,  it  would  seem  a  pity  to  leave  it,  if  I  can  do  any  good  by 
staying.  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  thinks  I  had  better  stay.  There 
may  be  a  use  hereafter,  in  writing  the  history  of  these  discussions ; 
and  I  could  do  it  much  better,  if  present,  than  by  information  derived 
from  any  other  source.  Besides,  it  is  important  to  form  an  opinion 
whether  more  is  to  be  done  for  the  Indians,  or  they  are  to  be  aban- 
doned. This  opinion  can  be  better  formed  here,  and  during  the 
progress  of  the  discussion,  than  elsewhere,  and  at  any  other  time." 

"  On  the  13th  of  May  the  Indian  Bill  was  taken  up  in  the 
*  House  of  Representatives,  and  Mr.  Bell,  chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee, commenced  the  debate.  The  result  was  still  regarded  as 
doubtful,  the  most  careful  estimate  giving  a  majority  of  two  or 
three,  perhaps,  in  favor  of  the  bill. 

"  14.  I  counted  the  members  after  Mr.  Bell  had  spoken  an 
hour,  and  again  near  the  close  :  there  were  sixty-five  at  one  time, 
and  sixty-three  at  the  other,  within  the  bar — out  of  more  than 
two  hundred.  Very  few  paid  much  attention — scarcely  any  but 
those  who  expect  to  speak. 

"  15.  Mr.  Storrs  brought  forward  most  interesting  new  matter 
from  the  Executive  Journal  of  the  Senate  in  1793,  and  from  Mr. 
Jefferson's  account  of  the  deliberations  of  the  Cabinet  at  that  pe- 
riod, by  which  it  appeared  that  the  Cabinet  came  to  the  deliberate 
decision  that  the  Indian  tribes  generally  should  be  distinctly  and 
solemnly  informed  that  this  government  acknowledged  them  to  be 
the  rightful  proprietors  and  true  owners  of  the   land  occupied  by 

*  The  Editor  of  the  North  American  Review  (Hod.  Alexander  H.  Everett,)  not 
being  satisfied  with  the  position  held  by  the  Reviewr,in  consequence  of  the  admission 
by  the  previous  Editor,  of  an  article  by  Gov.  Cass,  (mentioned  before,)  favoring  the 
views  of  the  administration,  had  applied  to  Mr.  Evarts  for  an  article  on  the  subject. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  37^ 

them  and  not  sold  to  the  United  States ;  that  they  had  a  perfect 
right  to  retain  their  own  government  and  sovereignty  upon  these 
lands  forever ;  and  that  all  which  the  United  States  claimed  was, 
the  exclusive  power  of  pre-emption,  whenever  the  Indians  should 
be  disposed  to  sell. 

"  16.  Sabbath.  Sermon  by  Mr.  Young,  of  Lexington,  Ken- 
tucky, from  Hebrews  xi.  1.  On  one  point  he  was  very  clear, 
namely,  that  this  verse  is  not  a  definition  of  faith,  but  a  description 
of  some  of  its  effects  ;  as  it  is  called  in  another  place,  the  victory 
that  overcometh,  &;c.  Perhaps  there  is  no  passage  of  Scripture 
which  is  more  generally  considered  a  definition  than  this  verse ; 
but  I  believe  it  will  be  found  that  there  is  not  a  metaphysical  or 
logical  definition  in  the  New  Testament.  Certain  characteristics 
and  effects  of  faith,  the  new  birth,  sin,  love,  he.  Sic,  are  found 
stated  in  many  different  places  ;  and  if  we  would  have  a  defini- 
tion, we  must  make  it  for  ourselves  by  considering,  comparing,  and 
ascertaining  the  correct  meaning  of  all  these  passages.  Of  late 
years  I  have  thought  much  of  this  subject. 

"  As  to  the  issue  of  the  Indian  question,  I  have  this  only  ground 
of  hope  left,  that  God  will  not  leave  us  as  a  people  to  such 
guilt  and  infatuation  as  would  be  involved  in  the  success  of  the 
bill  from  the  Senate.  On  any  calculation  of  numbers  and  proba- 
bilities, made  without  reference  to  what  God  will  do,  I  cannot 
sustain  a  hope  that  the  bill  will  be  defeated.  And  our  views  of 
what  God  will  do,  are  very  dim  and  short-sighted.  Of  one  thing 
you  may  be  sure — and  that  is,  that  it  will  be  your  duty  to  pray 
earnestly  and  much  on  the  reception  of  these  lines.  Probably  the 
fate  of  the  bill  will  be  decided  about  the  26th  instant ;  possibly, 
sooner. 

"  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  discussion  of  the  Sabbath  mail  question 
is  spoken  of  with  great  approbation  by  those  who  heard  it.  His 
reply  to  Mr.  Livingston  was  very  happy.  Mr.  Hillhouse  *  was 
delighted  with  Mr.  F.'s  argument  in  favor  of  the  Sabbath,  and 
said  it  would  console  all  the  pious  people  of  the  country,  who 
had  been  compared  to  Cataline,  Arnold,  and  Judas. 

*  The  venerable  James  Hillhouse,  of  Conneciicut,  formerly  of  the  Senate,  and 
then,  at  an  advanced  age,  on  his  last  visit  to  the  seat  of  government. 


372  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

"  Yesterday  I  had  a  conversation  with  Mr.  Grundy  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  Sabbath,  having  requested  an  introduction  for  that 
purpose. 

"May  18,  1830.  To-day  Mr.  Evans,  of  Maine,  spoke  on  the 
Indian  bill  three  hours.  Mr.  Huntington,  of  Connecticut,  two 
hours  and  three  quarters  ;  and  1  left  Mr.  Johns,  of  Delaware, 
speaking.  All  these  are  against  the  bill.  The  two  first  were 
good  speeches,  and  I  have  no  doubt  the  last  will  be,  or  is,  if  now 
closing.  The  difficulty  is,  that  nearly  all  the  friends  of  the  bill 
absent  themselves,  while  the  opposers  of  it  are  speakino^.  To 
Mr.  Huntington's  conclusive  arguments  there  probably  were  not 
five  attending  who  are  expected  to  vote  for  the  bill  ;  although  it 
is  said  one  hundred  are  known  to  be  in  favor  of  it.  Probably  about 
two  hundred  will  be  present  when  the  decisive  vote  is  taken. 

"  There  is  much  talking  and  planning  out  of  doors  on  the  sub- 
ject. It  is  said  confidently  that  all  Pennsylvania  will  go  against 
the  bill  ;  and  some  of  our  friends  are  as  confident  that,  if  she 
does,  the  measure  will  be  defeated.  But  I  cannot  encourage 
much  confidence — only  enough  to  urge  to  incessant  prayer,  and  a 
resolution  to  do  whatever  can  be  done  to  mitigate  the  evil,  should 
it  come  upon  us. 

"  19,  Not  thinking  that  anything  important  would  take  place, 
I  did  not  return  to  the  Capitol  after  tea  last  evening.  It  was, 
however,  a  most  interesting  time.  Several  amendments  were  re- 
jected ;  but  one  was  adopted  in  Committee,  which,  if  sanctioned 
by  the  House,  will  be,  in  some  respects,  of  inestimable  value.  It 
goes  to  secure  the  Indians  in  all  their  rights,  as  guaranteed  in 
compacts,  treaties,  and  engagements  between  themselves  and  the 
United  States.  It  was  offered  by  Mr.  Ramsey,  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  had  nearly  all  the  votes  of  that  State. 

"  The  previous  question  may  now  be  called  for  at  any  moment ; 
and  this  would  cut  off  all  amendments,  as  no  one  has  yet  been 
adopted  by  the  House.  The  previous  question  will  certainly  be 
called  for  this  evening,  unless  the  friends  of  the  bill  are  afraid  to 
call  for  it. 

"  We  have  various  alternations  of  hope  and  fear.  It  has  been 
whispered  to  me  confidentially  that  all  the  Pennsylvania  delega- 
tion, except  one,  will  vote  for  a  substitute  for  the  whole   bill,  to 


LIFE   OF   EVARTS.  373 

be  offered  by  way  of  amendment  by  Mr.  Hemphill,  when  the 
question  now  under  debate  is  disposed  of. 

"  Before  12,  the  House  took  up  the  subject.  The  regular 
question  was,  on  adopting  the  amendment  reported  to  the  House 
by  the  Committee  of  the  Whole.  To  this  Mr.  Storrs  offered  an 
amendment,  which  is  now  under  consideration.  It  is  fo  this  effect, 
namely,  that  in  all  negotiations  with  the  Indians,  they  shall  be 
treated  with  as  nations,  and  not  as  individuals. 

"On  this  question  Mr.  Bates  and  Mr.  Everett  have  delivered 
speeches  of  about  three  hours  each — both  of  them  good  ;  but 
Mr.  Everett's,  very  able,  and  more  likely  to  have  an  effect  than 
anything  which  has  been  spoken.  It  did  not  dwell  much  upon 
treaties,  &;c.,  but  upon  the  inexpediency,  the  cruelty,  and  the 
expensiveness  of  this  course  of  measures. 

"  Mr.  Wilde  is  now  speaking.  I  heard  his  beginning,  which  was 
a  good  deal  more  moderate,  I  have  no  doubt,  in  consequence  of 
the  criticisms  on  his  former  speeches.  The  hopes  of  the  friends 
of  the  Indians  have  greatly  increased  within  the  last  twenty-four 
hours  ;  but  some  of  these  friends  even  now  have  no  hope.  Mr. 
Hemphill's  contemplated  amendment  has  been  read  for  the  infor- 
mation of  the  House.  It  is  a  complete  substitute,  authorizing  the 
President  and  Senate  to  appoint  three  commissioners,  from  States 
who  have  no  interest  in  the  question,  to  visit  these  tribes,  and  the 
country  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  report  facts  to  Congress — and 
appropriating  ,^20,000  to  defray  the  expenses. 

''  The  previous  question  was  called  for  at  ten  minutes  past  10  ; 
but  the  motion  was  superseded  by  the  motion  to  adjourn,  which 
was  carried,  91  to  82. 

"  20.  No  progress  to-day  in  the  Indian  bill.  It  is  said  that 
even  the  Georgians  will  vote  for  Mr.  Ramsey's  amendment,  think- 
ing that  the  bill  will  not  pass  without  it,  and  saying  that  they  do 
not  care  a  cent  about  the  amendment.  If  this  should  prove  true, 
I  consider  much  gained.  The  faith  of  treaties  would  be  preserved 
by  the  letter  of  the  law,  though  I  have  no  doubt  it  would  be  vio- 
lated in  practice.  But  the  great  gain  would  be  this  :  We  could, 
with  the  blessing  of  God,  hold  the  drowning  honor  of  the  nation 
by  the  hair  above  water,  till  we  could  get  strength  to  pull  it  out. 
I  have  never  felt  so  deeply,  as  since  I  have  been   here,  the   inde- 


374  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

scribable  infamy  of  the  deed,  which  a  weak  infatuated  administra- 
tion is  so  desirous  of  perpetrating. 

*'  If  we  could  only  have  a  respite,  all  our  friends  here  think 
we  could  defeat  the  measure  ;  and  that  the  Indian  question  may 
be  made,  in  some  States,  to  exert  an  influence  on  the  election  of 
members  to  Congress  next  fall.  And  if  there  can  be  time  for  the 
Supreme  Court  to  decide,  the  nation  will  stand  by  the  decision 
of  that  tribunal,  and  will  defend  the  Indians. 

"21.  You  will  wish  to  know  how  we  feel.  I  am  afraid  to 
hope,  especially  since  the  result  in  the  Senate,  lest  I  should  expe- 
rience a  cruel  disappointment.  Tlie  countenances  of  our  friends, 
however,  are  brightening  with  hope ;  while  the  Georgians  are 
obviously  and  greatly  alarmed  for  the  fate  of  the  bill.  I  would 
gladly  do  all  I  am  able,  and  then  submissively  wait  the  Divine 
will. 

"May  22,  1830.  To-morrow  is  the  Sabbath.  We  have  rea- 
son to  think  that  great  exertions  will  be  made  in  private  by  the 
Georgians.  How  much  they  will  be  aided  by  the  powers  of  hell, 
I  do  not  know  ;  but  I  do  know,  that  there  is  One,  who  rules 
over  all.  He  can  direct  the  hearts  of  rnen,  so  as  to  accomplish 
his  designs.  If  he  shall  see  fit  to  give  up  this  nation  to  blindness 
of  mind  and  hardness  of  heart,  it  needs  no  prophet  to  say  that 
we  shall  suffer  extreme  calamities.     May  the  Lord  avert  them. 

"  On  Monday,  at  ten,  the  House  meets.  One  hour  is  occupied 
in  resolutions.  Soon  after  eleven,  the  Indian  Bill  will  probably 
be  taken  up  ;  and  its  fate  will  probably  be  decided  before  the  House 
adjourns. 

"  23.  I  would  not  have  you  suppose  that  I  think  the  passage 
of  the  bill  with  Mr.  Ramsey's  amendment  a  small  evil.  Far  from 
it.  The  evil  to  the  Indians  will  be  tremendous.  But  there  will 
be  more  scope  for  exertion,  than  if  the  bill  should  pass  as  it  came 
from  the  Senate.  I  would  humbly  and  submissively  wait  the  de- 
velopement  of  the  Divine  will  in  regard  to  this  matter.  The  Lord 
is  King  in  Zion,  and  let  his  name  be  praised. 

"  May  24.  At  half  past  eleven  this  morning,  the  contest  on 
the  Indian  bill  began.  The  last  thing  which  was  done  last  week, 
on  this  subject,  was  a  motion  for  the  previous  question,  which  mo- 
tion was  suspended  by  a  motion  to  adjourn,  which  prevailed.     Of 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  375 

course  the  motion  for  the  previous  question  was  the  first  thing  to 
be  attended  to.  A  call  of  the  House  was  demanded,  and  the  call 
was  taken  by  ayes  and  noes.  This  took  half  an  hour.  Nearly 
all  voted  for  the  call,  which  was  then  made.  I  think  193  mem- 
bers were  present.  [N.  B.  204  are  supposed  to  be  in  the  city.] 
On  seconding  the  call  for  the  previous  question,  78  arose.  This 
not  being  a  majority,  the  call  for  the  previous  question  was  not 
seconded. 

"  A  debate  then  began  on  Mr.  Storrs's  amendment.  After  a 
while  he  withdrew  his  amendment,  alleging  that  he  would  make 
it  a  question,  if  he  deemed  proper,  after  the  proposed  amend- 
ment of  Mr.  Hemphill  should  have  been  before  the  House. 

"  The  debate  continued  on  Mr.  Ramsey's  amendment.  Mr. 
Lewis,  of  Alabama,  made  a  most  violent  speech.  He  rallied  the 
Jackson  party.  He  said  this  was  a  party  matter  of  the  opposi- 
tion. That  they  (the  opposition)  said  that  this  was  a  favorite 
measure  of  the  administration,  and  if  this  measure  were  not  carried, 
the  administration  would  be  down — and,  added  he,  they  say  truly. 
He  said,  that  those  members,  who  were  chosen  to  support  the  party, 
would  betray  the  party  and  their  constituents,  if  they  did  not 
support  the  administration. 

"  He  violently  attacked  Mr.  Storrs  and  Mr.  Everett.  Mr.  S. 
disdained  a  reply,  and  was  perfectly  good  natured.  Mr.  E.  made 
a  very  short  and  a  very  good  reply. 

"Mr.  Vinton  next  made  a  very  good  speech  of  an  hour,  or  more, 
on  the  impolicy  of  the  measure.  This  brought  us  to  three  and  a 
half  o'clock. 

"  The  previous  question  was  then  called  by  one  of  the  Geor- 
gia party.  A  call  of  the  House  was  made — the  absentees  re- 
duced to  six — who  are  said  to  be  three  on  each  side. 

"  The  question  was  then  put  on  seconding  the  previous  ques- 
tion. It  was  not  seconded,  ayes  93 — noes  99.  It  was  supposed 
that  all  the  noes  will  vote  for  Mr.  Hemphill's  amendment.  This 
is  considered  a  very  favorable  indication.  Mr.  Lumpkin  just  told 
Mr.  Storrs  that  the  bill  will  be  defeated.     The  Lord  grant  it. 

"Mr.  Wayne  commenced  a  long  speech  at  five,  and  is  still  speak- 
ing, half  past  six." 


376  l^If'E   OF  EVARTS. 

Alas  for  the  hope  expressed  in  the  foregoing  extract !  The  sheet 
was  sent  on  to  his  associates  hy  the  intended  mail  with  the  follow- 
ing Postscript : 

"  P.  S.  I  have  the  unspeakable  pain  and  mortification  of  saying 
that  the  Indian  bill  passed  to  a  third  reading  at  ten  o'clock — ayes 
102,  nays  97.  This  is  the  decisive  vote.  H.  W.  Dwight  voted 
for  it. 

"  May  25.  1  ought  to  have  said  last  evening,  that  after  Mr. 
Wayne's  speech,  which  lasted  till  seven,  Judge  Spencer  spoke 
with  great  energy  an  hour. 

"  My  postscript  assured  you  of  the  melancholy  fact  that  the 
bill  passed  to  a  third  reading,  by  a  majority  of  five.  It  was  sup- 
posed that  four,  who  voted  with  that  majority,  would  have  pre- 
ferred the  amendment  of  Mr.  Hemphill,  and  would  have  carried 
that  amendment,  if  the  previous  question  had  not  been  carried. 
That  question  having  been  carried,  they  preferred  voting  for  the 
bill  to  voting  against  it.  Mr.  Dwight  and  three  Pennsylvanians 
were  probably  of  that  number. 

"When  Judge  Spencer  closed,  the  previous  question  was 
called  for — and  not  seconded,  the  vote  being  ninety-seven  ayes, 
and  98  noes. 

"  Soon  after,  Mr.  McDuffie  said  that  whatever  we  might  think 
on  the  subject,  Georgia  would  not  recede,  and  if  the  House  inter- 
posed in  the  only  way  in  which  it  could  constitutionally,  blood 
would  be  shed,  and  the  House  would  be  responsible.  He,  there- 
fore, moved  the  previous  question.  This  was  moved  for  the 
fourth  time  yesterday  ;  and  the  ayes  and  noes  were  taken  thirteen 
times,  as  one  of  the  clerks  told  me. 

"  On  Mr.  McDuffie's  motion,  the  House  divided,  and  there 
were  ninety-eight  and  ninety-eight,  and  the  Speaker  decided  in 
favor  of  taking  the  previous  question,  which  was  taken  by  ayes 
and  noes — ninety-nine  and  ninety-nine  (two  having  come  in,) 
and  the  Speaker  decided  in  the  affirmative,  making  one  hundred 
to  ninety-nine. 

"  The  main  question  was  then  put,  and  decided  as  I  mentioned 
yesterday,  102  to  97.  Mr.  Dickinson,  of  Troy,  having  come  in, 
and  making,  with  the  Speaker,  just  200  ;  and  I  believe  these  are 
all  who  are  expected. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  377 

"  If  Mr.  Dickinson,  who  came  from  a  sick  bed  between  nine 
and  ten  o'clock,  had  arrived  two  minutes  earHer,  he  would  have 
prevented  the  previous  question  ;  and  if  the  vote  had  been  taken 
on  Mr.  Hemphill's  amendment,  the  most  probable  supposition  is, 
that  it  would  have  stood  101  to  98,  in  which  case  the  Speaker's 
vote  would  not  have  been  required,  as  it  would  have  had  no 
effect. 

"  After  the  decision  last  night,  I  went  to  Mr.  Clayton's  quar- 
ters to  engage  him  to  speak  in  the  Senate,  where  I  found  our 
friends  in  tolerable  spirits,  after  the  defeat,  and  determined  to  re- 
new the  war  to-day,  on  the  third  reading. 

"  Accordingly,  as  soon  as  the  previous  business  was  disposed  of, 
the  Indian  bill  was  taken  up  and  read.  Mr.  Hemphill  moved 
that  the  House  should  go  into  a  Committee  of  the  whole ;  and 
that  the  Committee  should  be  instructed  to  report  the  bill  with 
his  amendment.  The  House  was  interrupted  by  the  impeach- 
ment of  Judge  Peck  ;  and  when  the  subject  was  resumed,  the 
previous  question  was  called  for,  seconded  96  to  96  ;  and  the 
Speaker  decided  in  the  affirmative.  The  previous  question  was 
then  taken  by  ayes  and  noes,  and  decided,  ayes  98,  noes  99 — 
the  Georgia  side,  in  all  these  cases,  being  in  the  affirmative.  So 
the  previous  question  was  not  carried.  Two  members  were  out 
of  the  way  purposely,  who  will  vote  for  Mr.  Hemphill's  amend- 
ment. 

"  If  the  vote  could  have  been  taken  this  afternoon,  on  the 
amendment,  it  would  have  stood  100  and  100 ;  at  least,  that  is 
the  most  probable  estimate.  Ninety-nine  members  voted  against 
the  previous  question.  All  these  would  have  voted  for  the 
amendment,  except  Mr.  Dwight ;  and  the  two  absent  members 
would  have  been  present,  making  100. 

"  Mr.  Dwight  engaged  yesterday  to  vote  for  the  amendment ; 
though  he*  voted  in  favor  of  the  bill ;  but  to-day  he  says  he  will 
not  vote  for  the  amendment,  though  he  voted  against  the  previous 
question,  in  order,  as  he  says,  to  keep  the  bill  open  for  other 
amendments.  To-morrow,  I  presume,  he  will  vote  for  the  pre- 
vious question  ;  and  the  bill  will  pass  as  before,  102  to  97.  The 
two  other  members  could  keep  off  the  previous  question  ;  but  they 
43 


378  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

will  not ;  as  they  will  not  be  responsible  to  their  constituents  for 
delaying  and  defeating  private  bills,  which  is  the  consequence  of 
prolonging  this  struggle. 

"  As  the  case  now  stands,  we  suppose  just  half  the  House  to  be 
really  opposed  in  feeling  to  the  bill  ;  though  three  will  vote  for 
the  bill,  rather  than  give  a  direct  vote  against  it. 

"  I  need  not  say  how  mortified,  ashamed,  indignant,  and  dis- 
tressed we  are  at  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Dwight.  He  might,  proba- 
bly, even  now  save  the  Indians. 

"  May  26.  As  I  predicted  yesterday,  the  bill  passed  the 
House,  102  to  97,  at  a  quarter  past  one  to-day  ;  and  the  Senate 
concurred  in  the  amendments  at  a  quarter  past  three  ;  so  that 
the  bill  only  wants  the  signature  of  the  President  to  become 
a  law. 

"  Several  amendments  to  the  amendment  of  Mr.  Ramsey  were 
tried  in  the  Senate ;  but  without  success — one  by  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen,  against  State  encroachments,  and  in  favor  of  protection  till 
the  Indians  choose  to  remove ;  one  by  Mr.  Sprague,  that  treaties 
should  be  carried  into  effect,  according  to  their  true  intent  and 
meaning  ;  and  one  by  Mr.  Clayton,  that  the  operations  of  the 
Act  should  be  confined  to  the  Cherokees  in  the  State  of 
Georgia.  All  these  were  rejected  by  the  same  votes  as  were 
given  in  favor  of  the  bill  a  month  ago ;  that  is,  so  far  as  members 
were  present. 

"  Mr.  Dwight  told  Mr.  Sprague  yesterday  afternoon,  that  he 
would  vote  for  Mr.  Hemphill's  amendment ;  so  we  may  fairly  say 
that  he  and  Messrs.  Ramsey,  Ford,  and  Scott,  in  addition  to  the 
ninety-seven  who  voted  against  the  bill,  would  have  made  101  in 
favor  of  that  amendment,  leaving  the  same  ninety-eight  against 
the  amendment,  who  voted  for  the  previous  question  yesterday. 
But  our  friends  could  not  get  a  trial  on  the  amendment,  on  ac- 
count of  the  recurrence  of  the  previous  question. 

"  It  was  certainly  a  great  weakness  in  the  four  men  whose 
names  are  mentioned  above,  that  they  should  have  voted  for  the 
bill,  after  publicly  and  solemnly  and  perseveringly  having  shown 
their  preference  for  a  bill  radically  different.  But  the  three 
Pennsylvanians  had  probably  committed  themselves,  and  they  are 


LIFE    OF   EVARTS. 


379 


decidedly  for  the  administration  ;  and  possibly  they  were  satisfied, 
in  great  part,  by  the  amendment  of  Mr.  Ramsey,  which  had 
been  adopted.  They  actually  made  a  struggle  for  the  Indians. 
But  as  to  Mr.  Dwight,  1  say  nothing. 

"  The  votes  of  the  several  States  stood  as  follows,  (reckoning 
the  Speaker,  who  three  times  gave  a  casting  vote  in  favor  of  the 
bill,)  on  the  final  passage,  and  on  the  passage  to  a  third  reading. 


New  Hampshire 
Maine, 

Ayes. 
6 
2 

Noes. 
0 
3 

Alabama, 
Mississippi, 

Ayes. 
3 
1 

Noes. 
0 
0 

Vermont, 

0 

5 

Louisiana, 

1 

1 

Massachusetts, 

1 

12 

Missouri, 

1 

0 

Connecticut, 

0 

6 

Tennessee, 

8 

1 

Rhode  Island, 

0 

2 

Kentucky, 

S 

4 

New  York, 

16 

15 

Illinois, 

0 

1 

New  Jersey, 

0 

6 

Indiana, 

2 

1 

Pennsylvania, 

7 

15 

Ohio, 

2 

11 

Delaware, 

0 

1 





Virginia, 

15 

6 

102 

97 

Maryland,    . 
Norih  Carolina, 
South  Carolina, 
Georgia, 

5 
8 
9 
7 

3 
5 
0 
0 

Add  the  Speaker 
16  from  Virgin! 

mal 
a, 

:ing 

1 
103 

"  Thus  the  matter  stands,  in  fact :  but  if  Mr.  Hemphill's 
amendment  could  have  been  tried,  four  are  to  be  deducted  from 
one  column  and  added  to  the  other ;  making  the  real  sense  of  the 
House  (including  the  Speaker)  to  be,  for  the  Indians,  101  ; 
against  them,  99. 

"  But  the  Lord  ordered  it  otherwise. 

"  I  hope  to  leave  this  place  on  Friday  ;  but  shall  write  again 
to-morrow. 

"  It  is  a  curious  fact,  that  the  Pennsylvania  Jacksonians  went-i 
so  generally  for  the  Indians,  and  the  New  York  Jacksonians  uni- 
versally, I  think,  against  them.     I  can  account  for  it  only  as  an  / 
honor  conferred  by  Providence  on  Pennsylvania,  as  a  consequence 
of  the  upright  conduct  of  the  founder  of  that  State,  in  his  treat-^ 
ment  of  the  natives. 

*'  May  27.  I  spent  a  great  part  of  this  forenoon  in  consulta- 
tion with  Mr.  Wirt  and  the  Cherokees,  in  regard  to  their  matters. 
Though  I  wish  exceedingly  to  leave  this  place,  I  do  not  see  how 
I  can  do  so  till  next  Monday ;  and  then  perhaps  it  will  be  impos- 


380  LIFE  OF  EVARTS. 

sible  to  find  conveyance,  as  seats  are  even  now  taken  for  that  day 
in  all  public  vehicles. 

"  In  this  conjuncture  of  affairs,  the  Cherokees  need  advice  and 
assistance  ;  and  to  leave  them  now,  would  be  to  lose  the  opportu- 
nity of  doing  much  good. 

''  My  family  and  the  Committee  and  all  at  the  Rooms  may  be 
assured  that  1  wish  to  get  away  from  this  place  more  than  they 
wish  to  have  me. 

"  To-day  I  learned  that  the  Maysville  Road  bill  has  been  re- 
turned by  the  President,  with  his  objections.  Several  who  voted 
for  the  Indian  bill,  now  say  that  they  would  vote  against  it ;  and 
it  is  estimated  that  such  is  the  effect  of  returning  the  Maysville 
Road  bill,  that  the  Indian  bill  would  now  be  rejected  by  a  major- 
ity often  votes,  and  some  say  twenty.  But  it  is  too  late.  In  re- 
turning this  bill,  the  President  has  come  out  against  internal  im- 
provements, of  certain  kinds  at  least ;  and  thus  has  offended  many 
of  his  friends.  Had  he  signed  the  act,  he  would  have  offended 
the  South,  and  perhaps  the  Van  Buren  party  generally.  He 
kept  back  the  bill  as  long  as  he  could,  in  order  to  get  the  Indian 
bill  out  of  the  way  ;  but  this  is  the  last  day,  and  had  it  not  been 
for  the  previous  question,  either  Mr.  Hemphill's  amendment 
would  have  been  adopted,  or  the  discussion  would  have  been 
prolonged  till  to-day,  when  the  whole  project  would  have  been 
overthrown.  Our  friends  were  aware  of  all  this  ;  but  nothing 
more  could  have  been  done  by  the  great  body  of  our  friends  than 
was  done.  I  never  knew  men  feel  the  solemnity  of  an  occasion 
more. 

"  I  have  seen  a  considerable  number  last  evening  and  to-day, 
who  think  that  there  is  great  reason  to  hope  for  an  expression  of 
public  opinion,  that  will  compel  the  government  to  be  cautious, 
and  will  ultimately  vindicate  the  rights  of  the  Indians.  They 
say  that  if  the  Cherokees  submit  quietly  to  the  encroachments  of 
Georgia  for  a  year,  and  seek  redress  in  a  legal  way  only,  they 
will  be  secured  in  their  possessions  ever  afterwards. 

"  Some  say  that  there  will  be  such  a  feeling  among  the  people, 
as  will  secure  the  repeal  of  the  law  next  winter;  or,  at  any  rate, 
prevent  any  more  appropriations. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  381 

"  All  are  of  opinion  that  a  great  effort  should  be  made  to  en- 
lighten the  people,  and  call  forth  a  strong  expression  of  their 
opinion  on  the  subject. 

"  May  29.  I  have  spent  a  considerable  part  of  this  day  in 
Mr.  Wirt's  company  with  the  Cherokees.  It  seems  extremely 
important  to  our  country  and  to  the  world,  that  we  extricate  our- 
selves from  the  disgraceful  predicament  in  which  we  are  placed 
by  the  passage  of  the  Indian  bill. 

"  At  times  I  am  exceedingly  cast  down  as  to  the  result ;  but 
our  friends  here  are  many  of  them  very  confident  that  the  people 
of  the  United  States  will  insist  on  the  President's  retracing  his 
steps.  Some  think  the  act  will  be  repealed  the  next  session  of 
Congress ;  or,  at  any  rate,  that  Congress  will  appropriate  no 
more  money  to  this  object. 

"  It  seems  a  most  remarkable  Providence,  that  the  bill  should 
pass,  when  a  majority  present  shewed  themselves  to  be  really  and 
obstinately  opposed  to  it ;  and  that  it  passed  by  a  majority  of 
five,  when  the  very  next  day,  as  is  confidently  stated,  at  least 
twelve  who  voted  for  it,  would  have  voted  against  it ;  in  which 
case  the  vote  would  have  been,  ayes  90 — noes  109.  No  one 
doubts  that  it  would  have  been  rejected.  This  strange  state 
of  things  should  make  us  stand  astonished  at  the  ways  of  Provi- 
dence. 

"  We  had  many  doubts  whether  the  Indian  cause  did  not  suf- 
fer by  delay  ;  but  I  am  now  convinced  that  all  the  delay  was 
serviceable  to  our  cause  ;  and  that  we  only  wanted  a  little  more 
delay.  We  gained  by  the  argument  constantly ;  and  the  enemy 
was  entirely  silenced.  Is  not  this  some  indication  that  we  shall 
gain  before  the  people  ? 

"  If  the  Indian  bill  had  been  discussed  before  the  tariff, 
we  should  not  have  had  Pennsylvania  on  our  side.  It  was 
a  great  triumph  to  detach  that  State  from  the  Jackson  ranks. 
The  veto  upon  the  Maysville  Road  has  nearly  completed  what 
the  Indian  bill  began.  The  administration  party  is  in  a  very 
disjointed  state  ;  and  the  weakness  of  the  cabinet  is  daily  more 
and  more  apparent.  But  all  this  does  not  save  the  poor  In- 
dians ;  and  I  have  great  fears  that  they  will  be  destroyed,  at  the 
expense  of  a  fearful  accumulation  of  national  guilt." 


382  LIFE   OF   EVARTS. 

"  My  comfort  is,"  said  Mr.  Evarts  to  a  member  of  Congress  at 
his  side,  when  the  final  vote  on  the  bill  was  announced,  "  my 
comfort  is  that  God  governs  the  world  ;  and  my  hope  is,  that 
when  the  people  of  the  United  States  come  to  understand  the 
subject,  there  will  a  redeeming  spirit  arise  ;  for  I  will  not  believe 
that  the  nation  is  yet  lost  to  truth  and  honor." 

With  such  feelings  he  left  Washington  and  hastened  to  his  be- 
loved home,  and  to  the  Office  Rooms,  which  had  been  for  so 
many  years  the  scene  of  his  most  pleasant  labors,  but  which  he 
was  no  more  to  visit  without  a  weight  of  anxiety  and  care  in 
regard  to  the  Indians,  which  preyed  upon  his  health,  and  which 
he  was  able  to  throw  off  only  when  he  had  become  so  feeble 
that  labor  in  the  cause  was  obviously,  for  him,  no  longer  a 
duty.* 

On  his  return  he  had,  in  New  York,  called  together  a  few 
gentlemen  for  an  interchange  of  views  on  the  Indian  question, 
when  it  was  agreed  that  the  friends  of  the  Indians  ought  to 
hold  themselves  in  readiness  to  petition  the  President  of  the 
United  States  on  their  behalf  whenever  the  same  should  be 
expedient;  and  a  committee,  of  which  he  was  chairman,  was 
appointed,  to  watch  the  progress  of  events  and  make  any  public 
statements  that  might  be  necessary.  A  similar  arrangement 
was  at  this  same  time  adopted  in  regard  to  the  question  of 
Sabbath  Mails. 

After  his  arrival  at  home,  on  one  of  the  first  days  in  June, 
not  yet  despairing  of  the  republic,  he  immediately  engaged  in 
new  efforts  to  avert,  if  possible,  the  impending  calamity.  He 
edited  a  volume  of  speeches  on  the  Indian  Bill,  embracing  the 
leading  arguments  against  it,  with  an  Introduction,  and  exerted 
himself  to  secure  for  it,  and  for  separate  speeches,  an  extensive 
circulation.  He  prepared  a  careful  history  of  the  Indian  Bill, 
which  was   published   in   seven   numbers  in   the  New  York  Ob- 


*  During  this  anxious  month,  besides  the  labors  indicated  in  the  text,  Mr.  Evarts 
prepared  two  important  documents  relating;  to  the  Indian  question,  one  of  which  has 
never  been  published  at  all,  and  the  other  not  as  from  his  pen.  They  will  be  found, 
with  a  sketch  of  his  more  public  efforts  to  avert  the  impending  wrong,  in  the 
Appendix. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  383 

server.  He  wrote  an  article  for  the  North  American  Review, 
designed  to  put  the  question  in  its  true  light  before  the  literary 
classes  of  the  community,  and  as  a  statement  of  the  case  for 
other  countries  and  for  future  ages.  He  endeavored,  in  the 
official  journal  and  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Board,  to  give  a 
proper  direction  and  impulse  to  the  feelings  of  his  associates  and 
of  the  Christian  public.  He  kept  up  an  active  correspondence 
on  the  subject,  endeavoring  to  prepare  the  way  for  more  public 
efforts  during  the  approaching  session  of  Congress.  And  finally, 
near  the  close  of  the  year,  he  sent  to  the  National  Intelligencer, 
under  the  signature  of  "  William  Penn,"  two  eloquent  papers  on 
the  state  of  the  Indian  question  and  the  duties  of  the  people 
of  the  United  States  in  regard  to  it.  These  papers  appeared  just 
before  the  meeting  of  Congress,  and  were  the  last,  as  they  are 
perhaps  the  most  eloquent,  public  appeal,  that  he  lived  to  make 
upon  this  subject,*  He  often  said  that  he  intended  fully  to  clear 
himself  from  this  great  iniquity.  It  was  under  this  sense  of  urgent 
duty  that  he  labored,  as  was  sliown  most  impressively  to  those 
most  intimate  with  him,  and  the  witnesses  of  his  daily  life.  There 
was  perhaps  no  other  subject  which,  for  the  last  two  years  of  his 
life,  and  even  during  his  last  sickness,  he  so  constantly  and 
solemnly  remembered  in  his  prayers.  That  sense  of  dependence 
on  God,  and  that  reference  of  all  to  the  divine  will,  so  frequently 
expressed  in  his  letters,  he  habitually  felt.  On  the  morning  of 
the  day  when  the  final  vote  on  the  Indian  bill  was  to  be  taken 
in  the  House  of  Representatives,  as  he  was  entering  the  capitol 
with  a  Christian  friend,  he  remarked  that  God  only  could  direct 
to  a  right  decision  on  that  momentous  question,  and  requested  his 
friend  to  retire  with  him  to  a  vacant  room  for  prayer.  And  after 
the  vote  was  taken,  feeling,  as  he  said,  that  nothing  but  a  special 
divine  interposition  could  save  the  Indians  from  ruin,  they  again 
retired,  at  his  suggestion,  to  the  same  room  for  the  same  pur- 
pose. And  so  it  ever  was,  in  regard  to  this  and  to  all  sub- 
jects, however  great  his  anxiety  might  be,  his  heart  instinctively 
turned  to  God  in   prayer,  and  in    that  he  found  relief.     Having 

*  A  Memorial  of  the  Board  to  Congress,  written  ia  January,  was  his  last  effort  in 
the  cause. 


384  LIFE  OF  EVARTS. 

done,  in  the  fear  of  God,  what  seenned  his  duty,  and  made 
known  his  requests  to  his  Heavenly  Father,  he  strove  to  sub- 
due every  rebellious  feeling  as  to  the  result,  and  to  be  quiet 
as  a  child.  Alas  ! — when  good  faith  is  broken,  and  justice 
trampled  under  foot,  and  the  poor  and  dependent  robbed  and 
perhaps  destroyed  utterly,  and  all  by  one's  own  dear  country — 
how  hard  ! 


CHAPTER   IX. 


LAST   PUBLIC  EMPLOYMENTS,  SICKNESS  AND  DEATH.    1S30— 31. 


The  Annual  Report  of  the  Board  for  the  year  1830,  was  the 
twentieth  ;  the  first  ten  having  been  written  by  Dr.  Worcester, 
and  the  second  ten  by  Mr.  Evarts, — a  fact  which  he  mentioned 
to  one  of  his  associates  at  the  time,  wishing  it  to  be  remembered. 
This  circumstance,  together  with  the  events  that  had  brought  the 
cause  into  such  relations  to  men  in  public  life  and  to  the  com- 
munity, gave  a  peculiar  direction  and  impulse  to  his  thoughts. 
He  felt  more  deeply  than  ever,  how  needful  it  was  that  the  nation 
and  its  government  should  act  under  a  sense  of  religious  responsi- 
bility. The  Report,  prepared  in  this  state  of  mind,  and  doubtless 
with  a  lively  apprehension  that  it  might  be  his  last  work  of  the 
kind,  opens  with  a  glance  at  some  considerations  suggested  by  the 
close  of  "  one  fifth  of  a  century  "  of  labor  in  the  cause. 

"  Twenty  years  have  elapsed,  since  the  first  organization  of  this 
Board ;  and  almost  nineteen,  since  the  first  embarkation  of  mis- 
sionaries from  America  to  distant  parts  of  the  heathen  world.  In 
Jmae,  1810,  the  attention  of  our  churches  was  suddenly  arrested 
by  the  self-consecration  to  the  missionary  service  of  four  young 
men,  who  were  then  members  of  the  Theological  Seminary  at 
Andover.  The  Board,  under  its  present  designation,  was  imme- 
diately instituted ;  and  the  first  annual  meeting  was  held  in  Sep- 
tember of  the  same  year. 

"  One  fifth  of  a  century  has  already  passed  away.  The  greater 
part  of  the  early  members  of  the  Board  now  sleep  with  their  fath- 
ers ;  and  of  those  who  for  several  years  had  the  principal  agency 
49 


386  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

in  condncling  the  executive  business  of  the  institution,  the  present 
Corresponding  Secretary  is  the  only  survivor.  It  would  seem 
proper,  after  the  lapse  of  such  a  period,  to  look  back  upon  the  path 
through  which  Providence  has  led  us,  and  to  derive  from  the  retro- 
spect, such  lessons  of  instruction  and  encouragement  as  it  is  calcu- 
lated to  afford. 

"  It  is  an  obvious  remark,  but  a  most  important  one,  that  all  the 
reasons  which  were  first  urged  in  favor  of  missions  to  the  heathen, 
are  proved  to  be  true  and  valid.  Not  a  flaw  has  been  discovered 
in  one  of  them.  Not  an  imperfection,  not  a  weakness,  has  been 
detected  in  a  single  reason  on  which  the  friends  of  missions  ever 
placed  much  reliance.  On  the  contrary,  the  more  the  subject  has 
been  examined,  the  more  the  condition  of  the  heathen  has  been 
explored,  and  the  more  the  efiects  of  introducing  the  gospel  among 
pagans  have  been  witnessed,  the  stronger  do  all  the  arguments  in 
favor  of  missions  appear. 

"  When  it  is  considered  that  the  missionary  cause  has  now,  for  a 
long  time,  been  exposed  to  the  scrutiny  of  friends  and  enemies ; — 
to  the  doubts  of  the  timid,  the  scoffs  of  the  profane,  and  the  sophis- 
tries of  the  sceptical ;  and  when  the  solidity  of  its  foundation  is 
proved  by  every  trial,  there  need  be  no  apprehension  as  to  its  per- 
manency and  its  ultimate  triumph.  All  systems  of  false  doctrine, 
and  all  codes  of  unsound  morality,  are  subject  to  continual  varia- 
tions. They  are  sustained,  so  long  as  sustained  at  all,  by  a  series 
of  temporary  expedients.  The  reasons  assigned  at  one  time,  es- 
pecially in  all  cases  of  practical  error,  are  essentially  different  from 
those  which  had  been  assigned  at  another.  The  inference  is  in- 
evitable. 

"  But  though  the  principles  upon  which  missions  to  the  heathen 
have  been  urged,  are  unchangeable,  the  agents  and  the  circum- 
stances are  constantly  experiencing  that  mutability  which  belongs 
to  all  terrestrial  objects.  The  members  of  this  IBoard,  one  after 
another,  disappear  from  among  men.  Missionaries  leave  their 
bones  in  the  ocean  and  on  the  land, — in  their  exploring  journeys, 
and  at  their  several  stations.  Others  of  their  number,  debilitated 
by  fatigue,  and  exposure,  and  constant  care,  are  unable  lo  pursue 
their  labors.  The  most  active  and  useful  friends  and  patrons  of 
missions  have  limits  assigned  to  their  influence  and  exertions. 
The  attention  of  many  good  men  is  divided  and  weakened  by  the 
.multiplicity  of  charitable  exertions  ;  and  the  incessant  care  of  the 
multitude  is  directed  to  perishable  objects  and  pursuits. 

"  It  may  be  assumed,  indeed,  that  American  Christians  will  not 
relinquish  the  cause  of  missions  ;  but  great  eflbrts  will  be  neces- 
sary to  raise  the  tone  of  missionary  feeling  to  its  proper  elevation, 
and  to  keep  it  from  sinking ;  and  no  human  efforts,  unaided  from 
above,  will  be  adequate  to  such  a  result,  desirable  as  it  is,  and  as 
all  Christians  will  acknowledge  it  to  be. 

"  During  the  last  twenty  years,  many  favorable  changes  have 
taken  place  in  the  religious  state  of  the  world.  Many  benevolent 
enterprises  have  been  commenced  and  prosecuted  with  success. 
Much  has  been  done  in  the  way  of  getting  access  to  various  classes 
of  the  miserable.     The  gospel  has  proved,  its  efficacy  upon  multi- 


LIFE   OF   EVARTS. 


387 


tudes  of  all  classes,  and  in  all  situations.  It  has  been  shown  to 
be  adequate  to  every  emergency;  and,  to  the  considerate  and 
well  informed  mind,  it  stands  forth  as  the  only  hope  of  the  world. 
Yet  the  opposing  influences  are  many  and  strong.  Though  these 
influences  jnay  all  be  traced  to  the  depravity  of  our  nature,  and  to 
the  machinations  of  the  god  of  this  world,  they  are  still  exceedingly 
complicated  and  various.  In  less  enlightened  nations,  superstition, 
inveterate  customs,  perverse  habits,  dread  of  innovation, — all  with- 
stand the  progress  of  truth.  In  countries  where  free  discussion  is 
enjoyed,  and  the  power  of  the  press  is  felt,  it  is  easy  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  ignorance  and  credulity,  and  to  disseminate  false  doc- 
trine, skepticism,  infidelity,  and  practical  atheism.  Even  in  the 
church  of  God,  formality,  spiritual  pride,  a  desire  of  pre-eminence, 
and  a  love  of  ease,  have  too  often  fortified  themselves,  and  greatly 
diminished,  or  utterly  excluded,  the  genuine  fruits  of  the  gospel. 
With  all  the  frightful  mass  of  guilt  and  crime  under  which  the 
heathen  world  is  groaning; — with  selfishness  in  a  thousand  forms  ; 
— with  pride,  irreligion,  and  sensuality,  in  all  their  odious  and  dis- 
gusting varieties ;  with  enemies  abroad,  and  enemies  in  their  own 
bosoms,  have  the  disciples  of  Christ  to  contend,  as  they  go  forth 
to  labor  for  the  establishment  of  his  kingdom.  The  contest  would 
indeed  be  hopeless,  were  they  not  authorized  to  expect  help  from 
on  high.  While  looking  within  themselves,  and  on  the  world  far 
and  near,  in  parts  or  in  the  whole,  causes  of  overwhelming  des- 
pondency would  be  found.  But  when  the  eye  of  faith  is  lifted  to 
heaven,— when  the  promises  of  the  inspired  page  are  considered, 
and  the  poAverful  effects  of  the  gospel  are  duly  regarded, — then  it 
is  that  all  doubts  are  dismissed,  and  the  soul  prepares  to  put  forth 
its  full  vigor  in  the  cause  of  God  and  his  church." 

It  is  in  the  conclusion  of  the  Report,  however,  that  his  views 
of  the  cause,  and  of  the  duties  and  destinies  of  his  country,  are 
uttered  with  the  o-reatest  freedom  and  earnestness.  As  if  ur^ed 
on  by  some  secret  admonition  that  his  labors  on  earth  were  soon 
to  close,  he  yielded  to  the  impulses  of  his  heart,  and  expressed 
more  fully  than  he  had  ever  before  done,  his  views  respecting 
the  future  growth  and  influence  of  this  nation,  the  dan<)-ers  to 
which  it  is  exposed,  the  means  of  its  preservation,  the  exalted 
and  beneficent  destiny  to  which  he  would  have  it  aspire,  and  the 
solemn  responsibility  resting  upon  the  individuals  that  compose  it, 
with  reference  to  the  succeeding  and  ever  enlarginj^  generations 
of  its  wide-spread  and  countless  inhabitants,  and  to  the  world  at 
large.  Study  it,  thou  who  wouldst  serve  God  among  men  ;  and 
learn  thy  place  and  thy  duty  : 


-Quem  te  Deus  esse 


Jussit,  et  humanu  qui  parte  localus  es  in  re, 
Disce." 


388  LIFE   OF   EVARTS. 

After  the  usual  survey  of  the  missions  and  proceedings  of  the 
Board,  the  Report  concludes  as  follows  : 

"  Christians  have,  for  twenty  or  thirty  years  past,  distinctly 
avowed  the  determination  to  labor  for  tlie  conversion  of  the  icorld. 
They  have  professed  a  full  belief  that  the  time  is  rapidly  approach- 
ing, when  all  men  will  be  brought  under  the  influence  of  the  gos- 
pel; when  nominally  Christian  nations  will  be  so  reformed  and 
pnrified,  that  vice,  and  infidelity,  and  superstition,  and  crime,  and 
a  merely  secular  profession  of  religion,  will  have  disappeared,  and 
been  ultimately  banished  by  the  power  of  divine  truth  operating 
kindly,  but  irresistibly,  through  the  medium  of  correct  public 
opinion,  pervading  a  truly  virtuous  and  pious  community.  In  ac- 
cordance with  this  belief,  the  friends  of  Christ  have  put  into  oper- 
ation certain  principles  and  causes  which  are  evidently  adapted  to 
change  the  condition  of  mankind  ;  and  the  effects  of  these  causes 
are  already  becoming  manifest  to  the  world.  The  principles  of 
the  Bible  have  certainly  been  gaining  influence  among  men  for 
the  last  twenty-five  years  ;  and  the  enemies  of  the  Bible  can  easily 
see  that,  if  this  rising  influence  should  steadily  increase,  all  oppo- 
sition to  it  must  be  at  last  overwhelmed  and  utterly  destroyed. 
Hence  it  is,  that  they  are  so  ready  to  combine  their  exertions,  and 
conspire  together  as  one  com.pact  and  consolidated  body,  for  the 
purpose  of  limiting  the  progress  of  genuine  Christianity.  Wicked 
men  are  very  willing  to  praise  religion  in  the  abstract,  and  often 
to  decry  superstition;  but  when  the  inflaence  of  religion  comes  so 
near  them  as  to  threaten  their  peace  and  self-complacency,  unless 
they  change  their  course  of  life,  and  abstain  from  things  heretofore 
deemed  reputable  and  proper, — against  such  an  influence  their 
hearts  rise  with  a  feeling  of  most  determined  resistance.  In  this 
way  is  it  accounted  for  by  the  most  intelligent  and  observing 
Christians  of  Europe  and  America,  that  opposition  to  the  gospel 
should  have  recently  assumed  so  malignant  an  aspect.  Every 
form  of  idolatry,  however  cruel,  disgusting,  and  abominable,  and 
however  accompanied  by  the  grossest  immoralities, — every  mode 
of  superstition,  however  debased,  and  prostituted  to  become  the 
minister  of  sin, — will  find  apologists  in  Christian  communities. 
Even  the  horrid  inquisition,  with  its  annual  auto  dafe,  and  its  host 
of  victims,  would  appear  cpiite  tolerable  to  not  a  few  among  us,  if 
compared  with  such  a  state  of  feeling  in  the  community,  as  should 
call  forth  a  general  expression  of  concern  and  compassion  for  any 
man  who  was  not  upright,  conscientious,  irreproachable,  temperate 
in  all  things,  serious,  prayerful,  obviously  preparing  for  heaven,  and 
looJdns  vnto  Jesus  as  tltc  Author  and  Fi/iishcr  of  his  faith. 

"  If  these  views  of  the  present  state  of  things  are  correct,  it  is 
obvious  that,  as  the  ])ower  of  religion  shall  increase,  the  opposition 
will  likewise  increase  at  least  in  an  equal  proportion;  unless  God 
should  see  fit  to  restrain  the  violence  which  is  so  naturally  called 
into  existence.  That  religion  is  steadily  to  increase  henceforward, 
there  is  much  reason  to  hope  ;  perhaps  we  ought  to  say,  there  is 


LIFE   OF   EVARTS.  339 

abundant  reason  to  believe  :  that  it  will  ultimately  prevail,  we  are 
not  to  doubt  for  a  moment. 

"  While  actim^  in  behalf  of  a  large  portion  of  the  Christian  com- 
munity in  the  United  States,  it  will  not  be  deemed  improper  to 
direct  our  thoughts  to  the  future  destinies  of  our  country.  Such 
an  investigation,  if  properly  conducted,  cannot  be  a  useless  em- 
ployment ;  especially  as  the  success,  or  the  want  of  success,  of 
this  institution,  and  of  similar  associations  for  benevolent  purposes, 
will  materially  affect  the  future  condition,  not  only  of  America,  but 
of  all  mankind.  Our  exertions  may  naturally  be  expected  to  re- 
ceive some  impulse  from  a  consideration  of  the  vast  consequences 
to  flow  from  them. 

"  If  an  authoritative  sanction  were  necessary  to  justify  our  look- 
ing forward,  and  estimating  the  value  of  present  eflbrt  by  the 
results  hereafter  to  be  seen,  we  have  many  such  sanctions  in  the 
Bible.  The  great  lawgiver  of  the  ancient  dispensation  urged  the 
people  of  Israel,  by  many  most  affecting  considerations,  to  bear  iu 
mind  the  influence  of  their  own  conduct  upon  the  condition  of 
their  posterity.  Almost  every  prophet  sounds  the  trumpet  of 
alarm  and  raises  its  most  terrific  notes,  wdien  calling  attention  to 
the  fact,  that  the  present  conduct  of  the  people  was  to  fix  the  des- 
tiny of  generations  to  come  ;  and  our  Savior  himself  reprehends 
the  dulness  of  those  who  witnessed  his  ministrations,  and  yet  were 
not  able  to  discern  the  signs  of  the  times. 

"  It  is  not  presumption,  then,  it  is  not  vain  curiosity,  for  us  to 
look  forward  and  form  some  opinion  of  the  probable  condition  of 
the  people  of  America,  and  of  the  bearing  which  our  own  example 
and  influence  will  have  upon  the  future  state  of  our  beloved 
country. 

"  Looking  at  the  present  condition  of  mankind  with  the  light  of 
history  alone,  there  are  three  suppositions  which  maybe  made,  not 
without  some  plausibility,  in  regard  to  the  character  of  the  people 
of  North  America,  who  shall  speak  the  English  language  when 
the  whole  continent  shall  be  full  of  inhabitants.  The  first  of  these 
suppositions  is,  that  the  proportion  then  existing  between  morality 
and  vice,  truth  and  error,  honesty  and  crime,  religion  and  impiety, 
will  be  the  same,  or  nearly  the  same,  as  at  present; — the  second, 
that  infidelity  and  wickedness  will  prevail,  while  the  friends  of 
God  are  reduced  to  a  very  small  number  and  driven  into  obscurity ; 
and  the  third,  that  religion  will  pervade  the  land,  in  the  length  of 
it  and  the  breadth  of  it,  till  opposition  shall  have  ceased,  and  the 
whole  vast  community  shall  wear  the  aspect  and  exemplify  the 
reality  of  a  nation,  or  rather  a  cluster  of  nations,  consecrated  to 
God,  the  grateful  recipients  of  his  bounty,  and  the  honored  instru- 
ments of  conveying  his  beneficence  to  other  nations,  rising  to  an 
equal  state  of  glory  and  happiness. 

"  The  first  of  these  suppositions  is  the  least  plausible  of  the  three; 
but  still  it  is  the  one  which  most  naturally  strikes  the  mind,  and  it 
therefore  deserves  particular  consideration.  What  then  will  be  the 
condition  of  this  country  in  future  times,  if  the  proportion  between 
religion  and  iiTeligion,  the  church  and  the  world,  should  remaiq  as 
it  now  is  ? 


390  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

"We  are  to  remember  that  the  population  of  the  United  States 
has  quaclrnpled  within  the  last  fifty  years;  and  if  the  restraints 
of  religious  principle  continue  to  operate  with  their  present  de- 
gree of  force,  there  is  no  improbability  in  supposing  that  our  popu- 
lation will  increase  with  nearly  the  same  rapidity  as  at  present,  till 
the  continent  is  replenished  with  people.  How  short  a  period  is 
fifty  years,  to  the  man  who  looks  back  upon  it !  Most  of  the  mem- 
bers of  this  Board  were  born  before  the  commencement  of  it  ;  and 
those  who  were  not,  are  familiar  with  the  details  of  its  history, 
as  if  they  were  occurrences  of  yesterday.  But,  in  fifty  years  to  come, 
(at  the  close  of  which  period  some  of  our  children  now  in  school 
will  sustain  a  portion  of  the  most  responsible  offices  in  the  religious 
and  the  political  world,)  our  population  will  have  swollen  to  fifty 
millions  ;  and,  in  fifty  years  more,  to  two  hundred  millions. 

"  It  has  been  computed,  after  a  careful  estimate  of  the  capabilities 
of  America,  that,  with  the  present  degree  of  knowledge,  and  with- 
out any  reliance  upon  future  discoveries  in  agriculture  and  the  arts, 
this  whole  continent  will  sustain  at  least  two  thousand  millions  of 
inhabitants,  in  circumstances  of  comfort.  Let  it  be  supposed,  then» 
that,  after  a  hundred  years  from  this  time,  the  pojjulation  shall  be 
doubled  in  thirty  years  instead  of  twenty-five.  At  this  rate,  the 
descendants  of  the  present  inhabitants  of  the  United  States,  in 
one  hundred  and  seventy  years  from  this  day,  will  amount  to  one 
thousand  millions.  If  we  keep  in  view  the  fundamental  position, 
that  religious  restraints  are  not  to  be  diminished,  this  conclusion  is 
in  no  degree  improbable.  But  the  calculation  founded  on  this  posi- 
tion M'ill  certainly  be  safe,  if  the  descendants  of  the  present  inhab- 
itants of  British  America  be  thrown  into  the  scale,  and  if  it  be  con- 
sidered that  the  emigration  from  Europe  to  America  is  constantly 
and  rnpidly  increasing,  and  is  likely  to  increase  still  more  raj)idly. 
For  obvious  reasons,  the  inhabitants  of  Spanish  America  will  not 
increase  so  fast  as  the  people  of  the  United  States.  It  may  be 
assumed,  then,  that  if  the  jiower  of  religious  principle  be  not  weak- 
ened among  us  and  our  descendants,  there  will  be  on  this  continent, 
in  the  year  1880,  (when  the  young  children  now  around  our  tables 
and  in  our  schools  will  not  have  ceased  to  take  an  active  part  in 
human  affairs,)  fifty  millions  of  human  beings,  speaking  the  English 
language;  and,  in  fifty  years  more,  (when  some  of  our  grand  chil- 
dren will  be  spectators,  if  they  shall  have  ceased  to  be  actors,)  there 
will  be  tAvo  hundred  millions  ;  and,  in  seventy  years  more,  one  thou- 
sand millions.  The  condition  of  this  amazing  mass  of  human  be- 
ings must,  according  to  the  established  laws  of  the  divine  govern^ 
ment,  be  more  or  less  affected  by  the  principles  and  conduct  of  the 
present  generation.  If,  according  to  the  supposition,  the  relative 
power  of  religion  be  not  diminished,  the  diminution  will  be  pre- 
vented, with  the  favor  of  Heaven,  by  the  strenuous  efforts  of  the 
friends  of  God. 

"  Of  the  twelve  millions  and  a  half,  who  now  compose  our  popu- 
lation, about  five  millions  are  men  and  women  ;  the  rest  are  clnl- 
dren,  or  persons  in  early  youth.  Of  the  adults,  enlightened  charity 
can  hardly  go  further  than  to  suppose,  that  one  million  will  include 
all  who  are  truly  pious,  and  all  who  live  habitually  under  a  sense  of 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  39I 

personal  responsibility  to  God  lor  their  conduct.  The  remaining 
four  millions,  though  not  under  the  direct  influence  of  religious  con- 
siderations, are,  to  a  great  extent,  restrained  by  fears  respecting 
the  world  to  come,  and  by  the  example,  exhortations,  and  prayers 
of  the  religious  part  of  the  community.  The  general  influence  of 
their  lives,  however,  is  unfavorable  to  religion  ;  and  vast  multitudes 
are  vicious  and  abandoned,  diffusing  a  moral  pestilence  all  around 
them,  perpetrating  enormous  crimes,  eluding  human  law,  or  sufier- 
ing  its  penaUies. 

"  These  four  millions,  who  may  be  comprehended  under  the  gen- 
eral denomination  of  people  of  the  world,  have  six  millions  of  chil- 
dren and  youth  under  their  direct  control,  and  exposed  to  their  con- 
stant example;  and  the  other  million  of  adults,  who  are  habitually 
influenced  65'^  rehgious  considerations,  and  who,  to  avoid  circumlocu- 
tion, may  be  denominated  the  church,  have  under  their  direct  control, 
and  subject  to  the  influence  of  their  constant  example,  a  million  and 
a  half  of  children  and  youth.  It  is  to  be  observed,  that  though  the 
restraining  influence  of  the  church  upon  the  world  is  in  a  high  de- 
gree salutary,  so  far  as  the  preservation  of  order  in  a  free  country 
is  concerned,  and  so  ilir  as  the  tone  of  general  morality  is  regarded  ; 
yet  it  is  at  present  such  as  by  no  means  to  satisfy  the  desires  of  a 
benevolent  mind.  The  church  itself  is  burdened  with  many  unsound 
and  unprofitable  members.  There  is  much  jealousy,  suspicion,  error, 
bigotry,  and  much  defective  morality  too,  within  its  pale.  Com- 
pared with  what  ought  to  be  seen,  there  is  little  zeal,  devotedness, 
self-denial,  and  spiritual  vigor. 

"  If  the  proportion  between  religion  and  irreligion  is  to  remain  the 
same,  the  god  of  this  world  will  number  among  his  followers,  in  the 
United  States,  fifty  years  hence,  no  fewer  than  sixteen  millions  of 
adults,  having  under  tlieir  direction  twenty-four  millions  of  children 
and  youth  ;  while  the  church,  the  divided,  weak,  inefficient  church, 
comprising  all  who  act  under  a  constant  sense  of  religious  respon- 
sibility, though  many  of  these  belong  to  no  regularly  organized  body 
of  disciples,  and  many  others  exhibit  no  very  consistent  example, — 
the  church,  thus  rent  and  disfigm-ed,  will  contain  but  one  fourth  as 
many  adults,  and  a  proportionate  number  of  children  and  youth  un- 
der its  direction. 

"Where  one  theatre,  with  its  purlieus  of  vice  and  infamy,  now  al- 
lures to  destruction,  four  of  these  noxious  seminaries  will  educate 
their  hundreds  and  their  thousands  for  a  life  of  profligacy  and  a 
hopeless  end.  Where  one  jail  now  raises  its  horrid  and  cheerless 
front,  four  will  vex  the  eyes  of  the  political  economist,  and  chill  the 
heart  of  every  friend  of  man.  Where  a  penitentiary  now  admits  a 
regiment  of  disarmed  malefactors,  and  confines  them  in  degrading 
servitude  and  chains,  its  walls  must  be  so  extended  as  to  receive  a 
little  army  of  felons,  who  will  be  prevented  by  physical  force  alone 
from  seizing  the  property,  or  attacking  the  lives  of  peaceable  inhab- 
itants. For  one  printed  vehicle  of  slander  and  falsehood,  of  ribaldry 
and  blasphemy,  which  now  dishonors  the  press,  four  of  these  pes- 
tiferous agents  will  pervade  the  community ;  and  all  sorts  of  mis- 
chievous influence  will  be  increased  in  the  same  proportion. 


392  LIFE    OF   EVARTS. 

"  Is  this  a,  prospect  at  which  a  good  man  can  look  with  compo- 
sure? The  appeal  is  made  to  Christians, — to  men  who  believe  that 
the  gospel  is  the  great  remedy  for  human  sufierings, — and  that, 
where  the  gospel  is  rejected,  all  is  lost. 

"  Looking  forward  only  fifiy  years  further,  (when  some  of  oar 
grand-children  will  hardly  be  men  of  grey  hairs,)  and  we  must  mul- 
tiply every  theatre  and  every  jail  by  sixteen  ;  and,  in  seventy  years 
from  that  time,  every  receptacle  of  evil  which  now  annoys  us,  must 
be  multiplied  by  eighty.  In  one  hundred  and  seventy  years  from 
the  present  day,  (a  period  forty  years  shorter  than  that  which  has 
elapsed  since  the  landing  at  Plymouth,)  the  jieople  of  the  world,  in 
distinction  from  the  church,  then  inhabiting  America,  and  speaking 
the  English  language,  will  amount  to  three  hundred  and  twenty 
millions  of  men  and  women,  and  four  hundred  and  eighty  millions 
of  children  and  youth,  while  the  church  will  contain  but  one  fourth 
of  that  number.  It  is  true,  that,  on  this  supposition,  there  will  be 
numerically  a  large  multitude  arranged  on  the  side  of  the  church, 
a  goodly  proportion  of  whom  may  be  charitably  considered  as  on 
their  way  to  heaven.  But  who  can  bear  the  thought,  that,  in  such 
a  vast  congregated  mass  of  immortals,  four  out  of  five  should  be  not 
only  destitute  of  religion,  but  living  in  such  a  manner  as  to  obstruct 
its  progress,  and  limit  its  influence  I 

"We  have  proceeded  thus  far  upon  the  principle,  that  the  relative 
power  of  religion  is  to  remain  the  same  as  at  present.  This,  how- 
ever, though  a  plausible  supposition,  is  far  from  being  probable. 
There  is  no  example  of  the  kind,  in  the  history  of  the  church. 
There  have  been,  indeed,  many  alternations  of  success  and  defeat ; 
but  no  instance  of  religion  and  irreligion  advancing  side  by  side,  in 
regular  proportions,  for  a  period  so  long  as  one  hundred  and  seventy 
years. 

"  If  Christians  in  the  United  States  have  not  strength  enough  to 
advance,  they  will  not  have  strength  enough  to  hold  their  own  ;  and 
they  must  expect  to  be  overwhelmed  by  floods  of  ungodliness.  The 
church  will  then  be  driven  into  a  corner,  so  that  the  world  will  sup- 
pose a  final  victory  has  been  achieved.  There  will  probably  be 
some  forms  of  religion  remaining,  gradually  losing  even  the  miser- 
able efficacy  of  forms,  and  falling  down  to  the  level  of  the  lowest 
superstition.  But  the  general  asj)ect  will  be  that  of  a  community 
living  without  God  in  the  world. 

"  Pride,  ambition,  luxury,  sensuality,  profaneness,  blasphemy, 
frightfully  intermingled  with  poverty,  crime,  debasement,  guilt,  and 
shame,  will  lash  with  scorpions  the  enslaved  and  abject  population. 
Even  from  this  land  of  the  pilgrims  will  arise  the  cry  of  milhons, 
suffering  under  the  torments  which  their  own  guilty  passions  will 
have  brought  upon  them. 

"  It  is  ol)vious,  that,  if  religious  restraints  be  withdrawn,  the  num- 
ber of  inhabitants  will  not  increase  so  fast  as  according  to  the  pre- 
ceding calculation.  Still,  the  history  of  the  world  has  shown  that 
it  requires  long  continued,  as  well  as  almost  universal  profligacy,  to 
arrest  the  increase  of  population  altogether.  With  the  great  ad- 
vantages of  soil  and  climate  which  this  country  enjoys,  it  may  be 
expected,  judging  from  God's  government  of  the  world  hitherto,  that 


LIFE    OF   EVARTS.  393 

our  population  will  advance  with  rapidity,  even  though  it  should  be 
checked  by  licentiousness.  We  may  estimate  that,  in  such  circum- 
stances, our  numbers  will  be  forty-five,  instead  of  fifty  millions, 
at  the  end  of  fifty  years  ;  an  hundred  and  fifty,  instead  of  two  hun- 
dred millions  in  fifty  years  more  ;  and  five  hundred,  instead  of  one 
thousand  millions,  "in"  one  hundred  and  seventy  years  from  the  pres- 
ent time.  The  wickedness  of  the  people,  left  almost  without  re- 
straint from  counteracting  example,  would  increase  at  such  a  fear- 
ful rate,  that,  by  the  period  last  mentioned,  it  would  greatly  have 
retarded  the  progress  of  population ;  and  much  beyond  that  period, 
any  increase  of  numbers  would  be  slow  and  doubtful. 

"Here  then,  we  have  five  hundred  millions  of  human  beings,  all 
living,  (with  exceptions  too  small  to  be  taken  into  tlie  account,) 
according  to  the  maxim,  Let  us  eat  and  drink,  for  to-morrow  ice 
die. 

"  What  would  be  the  number  of  theatres  and  other  receptacles  of 
vice  to  amuse  and  gratify  such  a  population?  What  the  number  of 
jails  and  penitentiaries,  of  police  officers  and  armed  guards,  to  coerce 
and  restrain  so  vast  a  multitude,  who  would  have  no  restraining  prin- 
ciple in  their  own  bosoms  ?  Atheists  may  talk  about  liberty  ;  but  we 
know,  that  there  can  never  be  a  truly  free  government,  without  an 
intelligent  and  conscientious  subjection  to  law;  and  where  there  is 
no  sense  of  accountability  to  God,  there  can  be  no  respect  for  the 
order  of  society,  or  the  rights  of  men. 

"Populous  heathen  nations,  and  nominally  Christian  nations  that 
have  sunk  nearly  to  the  level  of  heathenism,  are  indeed  without  any 
restraining  influence  of  true  religion ;  and  they  are  able,  by  means 
of  racks,  dungeons,  and  armies^,  of  spies,  guards,  and  oflicers,  to 
preserve  some  kind  of  public  order.  The  people  are  prepared  for 
this,  having  been  transformed  into  beasts  of  burden,  by  the  long  in- 
fluence of  superstition,  and  the  domination  of  privileged  orders. 
But,  if  the  people  of  America  speaking  the  English  language  should 
lose  nearly  all  the  religious  restraint  which  now  exerts  so  salutary 
an  influence  in  our  land,  they  will  be  a  very  different  sort  of  men 
from  the  Chinese,  or  the  inhabitants  of  Turkey,  or  Spain.  All 
determined  to  gratify  themselves,  and  none  wiUing  to  submit  to 
others ;  all  havmg  arms  in  their  hands,  and  refusing  to  surrender 
them, — wickedness  and  violence  will  reign  with  tremendous  and 
indomitable  energy. 

"  The  Sabbath  will  have  ceased  to  shed  its  benign  and  holy  ra- 
diance upon  the  land  ;  for  when  the  number  of  religious  persons  shall 
have  dwindled  to  a  very  small  fraction  of  the  community,  it  will  be 
impossible  to  preserve  the  Sabbath,  except  as  a  day  of  thoughtless 
festivity  and  noisy  mirth, — and  pre-eminently  a  day  of  sin.  Then 
God  will  hide  his"  face  from  an  erring  and  self-destroying  people  ; 
and  dense  and  angry  clouds,  the  precursors  of  his  vengeance,  will 
gather  from  every  quarter  of  the  horizon.  One  cry  of  violence  and 
blasphemy  will  ascend  like  the  cry  of  Sodom,  from  all  the  dwellers 
between  the  two  oceans,  and  between  the  gulf  of^  Mexico  and  the 
northern  sea.  No  extraordinary  instruments  of  divine  wrath  need 
be  furnished.     The  remorseless  cravings  of  unsatisfied  desire,  the 

50 


394  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

aggressions  and  resistance,  the  insults  and  revenge,  the  cruelty  and 
perfidy,  the  fraud  and  malice,  pervading  all  ranks  and  classes  of 
men,  will  supply  more  than  a  sufficient  number  of  public  execu- 
tioners. 

"  Who,  that  has  not  a  heart  of  adamant,  can,  without  shuddering, 
regard  such  a  day  as  probable  ?  Who,  that  really  expects  such  a  day, 
but  must  wish  to  leave  no  posterity  of  his  own,  to  mingle  in  the  hor- 
rid strife — to  become  either  tyrants  or  slaves,  oppressors  or  victims  ; 
— all  victims,  indeed,  to  their  own  follies  and  crimes  ? 

"  Yet  this  is  the  very  state  of  things  which  multitudes  among  us 
are  laboring  to  produce.  They  do  not  see  ihe  whole  efiect  of 
what  they  would  gladly  accomplish ;  but  they  most  heartily  desire 
that  the  lime  should  arrive,  when  the  Sabbath  shall  be  universally 
regarded  as  an  exploded  superstition,  and  when  there  shall  be  no 
concentrated  public  opinion  to  pass  censure  even  upon  the  most 
odious  vices. 

"  Not  only  is  such  a  state  of  things  desired  and  aimed  at  by  mul- 
titudes, but  it  is  precisely  such  an  issue  as  the  unresisted  depravi- 
ty of  man  will  speedily  terminate  in.  It  is  altogether  a  practical 
matter;  and  will  be  the  sad  history  of  this  country,  unless  ihe  good, 
and  the  public  spirited,  and  the  pious  of  the  present  and  succeed- 
ing generations,  acting  under  the  great  Captain  of  salvation,  avert 
so  awful  a  calamity. 

"The  remaining  supposition  is,  that  the  relative  power  of  religion 
will  increase,  till,  before  the  expiration  of  the  longest  period  here 
mentioned,  opposition  shall  gradually  have  died  away  ;  and  all  the 
happy  millions  of  this  continent  shall  live  together  as  brethren,  ador- 
ing their  Creator  and  Redeemer,  and  lending  a  cheerful  influence  to 
every  good  design.  Then  will  be  a  day  of  glory,  such  as  the  world 
has  never  yet  witnessed.  As  the  sun  rises  on  a  Sabbath  morning, 
and  travels  westward  from  Newfoundland  to  the  Oregon,  he  will  be- 
hold the  countless  millions  assembling,  as  if  by  a  common  impulse, 
in  the  temples  with  which  every  valley,  mountain,  and  plain  will 
be  adorned.  The  morning  psalm  and  evening  anthem  will  com- 
mence with  the  multitudes  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  be  sustained  by 
the  loud  chorus  of  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  in  the  valley  of 
the  Mississippi,  and  prolonged  by  the  thousands  of  thousands  on  the 
shores  of  the  Pacific.  Throughout  this  wide  expanse,  not  a  disso- 
nant voice  will  be  heard.  If,  unhappily,  there  should  be  here  and 
there  an  individual  whose  heart  is  not  in  unison  with  this  divine 
employment,  he  will  choose  to  be  silent.  Then  the  tabernacle  of 
God  will  be  with  men.  Then  will  it  be  seen  and  known  to  the 
universe,  what  the  religion  of  the  Bible  can  do,  even  on  this  side 
of  the  grave,  for  a  penitent,  restored,  and  rejoicing  world.  But 
while  contemplating  such  a  display  of  glory  and  happiness  on  earth, 
we  are  not  to  forget  that  this  illustrious  exhibition  of  divine  power 
and  love  would  derive  nearly  all  its  interest  from  the  fact,  that 
these  countless  millions  were  in  a  process  of  rapid  transmission 
from  earth  to  heaven. 

"  Is  it  asked,  What  has  this  subject  to  do  Avith  the  meeting  of  a 
foreign  missionary  society  ?  JMuch,  in  various  respects.  It  is  per- 
fectly clear  to  the  mind  of  a  contemplative  Christian,  that  efforts 


LIFE  OF  EVARTS.  395 

made  in  this  country  to  send  the  gospel  to  distant  heathen,  are  as 
sure  to  bring  permanent  and  spiritual  blessings  to  ourselves,  as  any 
evangelical  efiorts  that  can  be  made.  And,  if  missions  to  the 
heathen  were  to  receive  no  future  support  from  America,  what 
would  this  prove,  but  that  Christian  benevolence  was  at  so  low  an 
ebb  among  us  ;  that  there  was  so  little  of  primitive  zeal  or  apostolic 
enterprize  to  be  found  ;  that  nothing  great,  and  noble,  and  effec- 
tual, in  the  way  of  charitable  effort,  could  ever  hereafter  be  ex- 
pected from  this  people  ?  If  our  domestic  missionary  societies  are 
to  be  sustained,  they  must  be  sustained  by  Christian  benevolence  : 
but,  wherever  this  divine  principle  exists,  it  will  seek  access  to  the 
heathen  ;  and  where  access  is  once  gained,  it  will  not  be  relin- 
quished. In  a  thousand  ways,  the  beneficial  influence  of  sending 
the  gospel  abroad,  is  felt  in  our  religious  prosperity  at  home.  If, 
through  the  apathy  of  Christians  in  regard  to  the  condition  of  the 
heathen,  it  should  be  necessary  first  to  curtail  and  then  to  with- 
draw our  foreign  operations,  sad  would  be  that  hour,  and  of  most 
disastrous  influence  upon  all  our  domestic  institutions. 

"  Be  it  known,  then,  and  felt  by  us  all,  that  there  is  no  way  in 
which  we  can  so  powerfully  aid  the  cause  of  God  in  our  own 
land,  as  by  doubling  and  quadrupling  our  sacrifices  for  the  salva- 
tion of  distant  pagans. 

"  These  considerations  are  not  to  be  set  aside  as  a  theoretical 
discussion.  We,  and  our  associates  and  friends  throughout  the 
country,  are  to  have  an  agency  in  fixing  the  destiny  of  the  genera- 
tions to  come  ;  and  in  fixmg  their  destiny  by  what  we  shall  do,  or 
neglect  to  do,  in  this  very  matter  of  sending  the  gospel  to  the 
heathen.  Christians  in  the  United  States  have  a  character  to 
sustain,  or  to  lose.  They  are  to  receive  the  approbation  of  pos- 
terity for  perseverance  in  well-doing ;  or  to  be  sentenced  to  public 
reprobation  as  betrayers  of  high  trusts.  They  are  to  be  rewarded 
as  benefactors  of  their  race,  or  to  share  the  doom  of  the  servant 
who  hid  his  Lord's  money  in  a  napkin.  There  is  no  avoiding  this 
responsibility.  They  cannot  hide  themselves  in  dishonorable 
graves,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  escape  reproach,  if  they  now  raise 
the  craven  cry  of  surrender,  instead  of  anticipating  the  shout  of 
victory  and  triumph. 

"  AVhen  John  Carver  and  his  associates  landed  at  Plymouth, 
and  afterwards  John  Winthrop  and  his  associates  arrived  at 
Charlestown,  they  might  have  doubted,  on  some  accounts,  wheth- 
er their  names  would  be  known  to  posterity.  They  labored,  how- 
ever, for  the  good  of  mankind,  and  laid  foundations  with  a  distinct 
and  special  and  declared  regard  to  the  benefit  of  future  times. 
Their  posterity  remember  them  with  inexpressible  gratitude  ;  and 
their  names  will  receive  new  tributes  of  admiration  with  every 
succeeding  age. 

"  The  moral  enterprises  of  the  present  day  are  novel, — if  not  in 
their  character  and  principle,  yet  in  their  combination  and  effect. 
They  will  be  thoroughly  examined  hereafter,  and  the  hundreds  of 
millions  of  Americans  will,  in  the  next  century,  declare  the  result. 
We  may  now  imagine  these  millions  convened,  as  in  some  vast 
amphitheatre,  and  directing  their  anxious  and  concentrated  gaze 


396  LIFE   OF  EVAKTS. 

upon  us.  Happy  will  it  be  for  our  countiy  and  the  world,  if  they 
can  then  exclaim,  '  These  were  the  men  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, who  came  to  the  help  of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty  ; — 
these  friends  and  patrons  of  missionary  and  Bible  institutions  ;— 
these  supporters  of  a  press  truly  free,  which,  by  its  salutary  issues, 
emancipated  the  nations  from  the  thraldom  of  sin  ; — these  defend- 
ers of  the  Sabbath  and  all  its  holy  influences  ; — these  are  the  men 
who  counted  the  cost  of  denying  themselves,  and  cheerfully  made 
the  sacrifice  of  throwing  all  their  powers  and  resources  into  an 
effort  for  the  world's  deliverance.  God  smiled  upon  their  perse- 
vering and  united  labors,  acknowledged  them  as  his  friends  and 
servants,  and  we  now  hail  them  as  benefactors  of  our  happy  mil- 
lions, and  of  thousands  of  millions  yet  unborn.' 

"  In  words  like  these  may  we  imagine  that  our  humble  instru- 
mentality will  be  commemorated,  if  we  are  faithful  to  our  engage- 
ments. But  shoidd  we  become  weary  of  our  work  and  relinquish 
it;  should  its  difficulty  dishearten  us,  and  the  confused  shouts  of 
the  enemy  terrify  us  ;  should  we  say,  that  these  Anakims  are  too 
tall  for  us  to  encounter,  and  their  fortifications  are  too  strong  for  us 
to  assail;  and  we  must  leave  to  better  men  and  after  times  the 
glory  of  such  high  achievements  : — should  we  fold  our  hands  and 
say,  that  another  age  of  darkness  must  intervene  before  the  dawn 
of  the  millennial  day  shall  rise  ; — that  we  have  been  beguiled  by 
a  meteor,  which  we  took  to  be  the  morning  star  ascending  on 
high  ;  and  that  we  must  remit  our  efforts,  and  make  up  our  minds 
that  our  children  and  our  children's  children,  for  centuries  to  come, 
are  to  grind  in  the  vast  prison-house  which  is  preparing  for  their 
reception  :  if  these  are  to  be  our  conclusions,  and  these  the  depths 
to  which  our  high  hopes  have  fallen,  let  no  man  write  our  epitaph. 
The  sooner  we  are  forgotten,  the  better.  If  it  were  possible,  let 
every  recorded  trace  of  the  religious  exertions  of  the  present  day 
be  blotted  out,  so  that  the  knowledge  of  our  disastrous  failure  may 
not  discourage  the  enterprise  of  some  future  age.  But  it  will  not 
be  possible ;  for  the  enemy  will  preserve  our  sanguine  predictions 
and  the  memoiy  of  our  gigantic  plans,  to  grace  his  triumph,  and  as 
a  standing  exhibition  of  a  design  which  joined  all  that  was  splendid 
and  glorious  in  anticipation  to  all  that  was  feeble  and  abortive  in 
execution.  In  siich  a  melancholy  termination  of  our  efforts,  some 
indignant  prophet  of  the  Lord,  in  that  retirement  to  which  the 
Yjrevailing  wickedness  shall  have  consigned  him,  will  utter  his 
complaint  against  us.  '  These  are  the  men,'  he  will  say,  '  to 
whose  energy  and  fidelity  God  committed  the  condition  of  their 
posterity.  The  charge  fell  from  their  feeble  hands.  They  began 
to  build,  but  were  not  able  to  finish,  because  they  were  not  wil- 
ling to  labor.  They  put  their  hands  to  the  plough,  but  looked 
back,  and  were  not  fit  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven.' 

"  If  we  would  avoid  this  catastrophe,  more  dei)lorable  than 
words  can  describe,  we  must  feel  deeply  and  constantly,  that  with- 
out Christ  we  can  do  nothing;  and  that  from  him  must  proceed, 

'  Our  high  endeavor,  and  our  glad  success, 
Our  strength  to  suffer,  and  our  will  to  serve.' 


LIFE  OF  EVARTS.  397 

"  To  him  must  we  look  habitually,  as  the  Hope  of  Israel,  as 
the  Redeemer  of  his  chosen  people,  as  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of 
lords. 

"  Knowing  his  power  and  willingness  to  save,  we  must  distrust 
ourselves  only  ;  and,  in  such  a  temper,  we  must  apply  to  him  to 
call  forth  more  zeal  and  devotedness,  and  to  place  more  consecrat- 
ed talent  in  requisition. 

"  The  professed  friends  of  Christ, — those  who  are  charitably 
regarded  as  his  real  .friends,  must,  as  a  body,  show  more  zeal 
and  self-denial  in  his  cause,  or  it  cannot  advance  :  that  is,  it  can- 
not advance  according  to  any  known  method  of  the  divine  admin- 
istration. 

"  This  is  a  very  solemn  concern.  It  is  a  painful  truth,  but 
thousands  of  facts  prove  it  to  be  a  truth  unquestionable,  that  the 
mass  of  those  who  are  regarded  as  the  real  friends  of  Christ, 
are  in  no  degree  awake  to  the  responsibility  of  their  situation. 
They  have  but  a  very  indistinct  apprehension  of  what  they  are 
able  to  do — of  what  they  ought  to  do — of  what  the  world  is  losing 
by  their  neglect;  and  the  very  imperfect  decisions  of  their  minds 
are  but  slowly  and  partially  executed  by  the  performances  of  their 
hands. 

"  This  is  the  more  to  be  lamented,  as  we  are  now  at  the  very 
harvest  time  of  the  world.  The  individual  who  annually  gives 
his  few  dollars  or  his  few  cents,  puts  tracts  and  Bibles  into  the 
hands  of  distant  heathens  immediately;  or  places  heathen  chil- 
dren in  a  missionary  school ;  or  aids  in  training  up  native  preach- 
ers to  itinerate  and  proclaim  the  gospel  among  their  countrymen. 

"  As  to  consecrated  talent,  never  was  there  such  a  call  to  bring 
it  into  exercise  ;  never  such  a  reward  as  it  now  has  to  offer  to  a 
benevolent  heart.  The  man  whose  labors  contribute,  in  any  ma- 
terial degree,  to  raise  up,  and  purify,  and  ennoble  the  future  mil- 
lions of  America,  will  do  more  for  himself,  as  aiming  to  exert  a 
salutary  influence,  (even  if  his  name  should  never  be  known  to 
his  grateful  fellow  men,)  than  has  ever  yet  been  done  for  the  most 
successful  aspirant,  by  all  that  the  world  calls  fame. 

"  The  preacher,  who  sends  abroad  a  sermon  full  of  great  and 
striking  thoughts,  that  command  the  attention  of  the  religious 
world,  and  make  their  way  through  a  thousand  channels  to  suc- 
cessive ages  ; — the  sacred  bard,  who  composes  a  hymn  that  shall 
be  stereotyped  a  century  hence,  on  the  other  side  of  the  Kocky 
Mountains,  and  printed  on  the  same  page  with  Cowper's  '  O  for  a 
closer  walk  with  God,'  or  the  '  Martyrs  Glorified'  of  Watts  ; — the 
writer,  who  shall  print  a  warm  and  stirring  treatise  on  practical  re- 
ligion, which  shall  stand  by  the  side  of  the  Saint's  Rest,  in  the 
library  of  every  family,  when  our  country  shall  have  become 
thoroughly  and  consistently  Christian  ; — the  editor  of  a  periodical, 
or  the  agent  of  any  of  our  religious  charities,  who  shall  indite  a 
paragraph,  able  to  move  the  hearts  of  men  to  great  and  noble 
deeds,  and  to  secure  for  itself  a  permanent  existence  among  the 
elements  of  thought  and  action  :  the  man  who  shall  do  any  one  of 
these  things,  or  any  thing  of  a  similar  character,  will  exert  an 
efficient  influence  over  more  minds  than  have  ever  yet  heard  the 


398  L^^E   OF  EVARTS. 

name  of  Homer  or  Cicero ;  and  will  cheer  more  hearts,  during  a 
single  generation,  than  have  ever  yet  responded  to  the  calls  of 
the  mightiest  genius.  To  aid,  even  in  a  feeble  and  indirect  man- 
ner, the  work  of  bringing  thousands  of  millions  to  glory  and  virtue, 
to  heaven  and  to  God,  is  to  reach  an  exalted  rank  among  those 
whom  their  Saviour  will  honor  as  the  instruments  of  his  divine 
beneficence." 

The  Indian  question  was  not  yet  conclusively  settled.  The 
Act  of  Congress,  the  passage  of  which  had  given  Mr.  Evarts  so 
much  pain,  authorized  the  President  of  the  United  Slates  to 
prosecute  the  plan  of  removing  the  Indians  ;  but  it  might  yet  be 
repealed,  or  the  execution  of  it  might  be  prevented  by  the  with- 
holding of  appropriations,  or  the  refusal  of  the  Senate  to  ratify 
treaties  made  under  such  compulsion.  Measures  had  been  taken, 
also,  to  secure,  if  practicable,  the  interposition  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  ;  and  it  seemed  desirable  at  least  to 
defer  active  measures  under  the  treaty,  until  the  decision  of  that 
tribunal  should  be  obtained.  It  was  a  subject,  therefore,  that 
naturally  occupied  a  prominent  place  in  the  plans  of  Mr.  Evarts 
for  the  year.  His  active  correspondence  and  other  labors  in  re- 
gard to  it  were  continued.*  Three  or  four  letters  of  this  period 
will  show  the  state  of  his  mind. 

TO    REV.    FRANCIS    WAYLAND,    D.    D. 

Boston,  July  1,  1S30. 

"  Mr.  Anderson  read  to  us  this  morning  your  letter  to  him,  so 
far  as  it  relates  to  the  Indian  subject.  Mr.  Wisner  and  Mr. 
Greene  were  present.  It  was  agreed  that  I  should  write  to  you 
and  say  that  you  must  come  to  Boston  on  the  subject.  I  have 
not  time  to  write  a  long  letter,  and  if  I  had,  a  letter  would  be  a 
very  imperfect  communication.  You  intimate  that  you  wish 
*  the  case  may  not  be  as  bad  as  it  seems  to  be.'  I  have  no  doubt 
the  case  is  far  worse  than  you  ever  conceived  of.     Last  evening  I 

*  This  was  a  crisis  that  justified,  in  his  view,  a  departure  from  his  usual  more  silent 
course  respecting  elections.  The  preservation,  inviolate,  of  the  public  faith,  as 
pledged  in  the  Indian  treaties,  he  regarded  as  paramount  to  all  other  questions  then 
before  the  minds  of  electors  ;  and  when  the  election  of  a  member  of  Congress  from 
Boston  came  on,  he  attended  a  meeting  of  citizens  at  Faneuil  Hall,  and  moved  a 
resolution  urging  the  support  of  one  of  the  candidates  on  that  ground. 


LIFE   OF   EVARTS. 


399 


received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Kingsbury,  which  informs  us  that  the 
removing  system  has  already  brought  immense  evil  upon  the 
Choctaws.  As  the  Methodist  missionaries  were  forward  in  pro- 
moting the  treaty,  so  called,  which  the  Choctaws  offered  to  make 
in  March  last,  the  opposers  of  religion  have  rallied,  and  charge 
the  whole  removing  system  upon  all  the  missionaries  and  upon 
the  Gospel.  They  arrayed  patriotism  against  religion  ;  and  as 
they  are  undoubtedly  right  in  their  feelings  as  patriots,  and  in 
their  indignation  at  the  base  manner  in  which  their  rights  have 
been  taken  from  them,  by  bullying,  threats,  and  bribery, — and  as 
the  people  are  really  and  unanin)ously  opposed  to  a  removal,  un- 
less they  are  driven  to  it  by  the  dread  of  oppression, — it  follows 
that  the  opposers  of  religion  have  a  tremendous  advantage. 

"  Our  missionaries  have  been  cautious  and  prudent,  as  to  inter- 
fering with  the  politics  of  the  Indians  ;  but  Mr.  Kingsbury  has 
told  the  government,  in  a  dignified  manner,  that  he  considers 
the  measures  unjust  and  oppressive.  All  our  missionaries  east  of 
the  Mississippi  consider  the  whole  scheme  to  be  a  wanton  and 
abominable  robbery  ;  yet  all  this  does  not  shield  them  from  being 
represented,  by  the  opposers  of  religion,  as  having  contributed  to 
this  result. 

"  As  to  the  Baptists,  I  regret  exceedingly  the  part  which  they 
have  taken,  though  I  think  a  large  part  of  the  Baptists  here  are 
opposed  to  a  removal.  I  have  avoided,  however,  and  wish  to 
avoid,  everything  which  would  lead  to  sectarian  feelings,  and  I 
make  the  most  charitable  allowances  for  those  who,  as  I  think, 
have  been  egregiously  misled. 

"  If  proper  efforts  are  made  by  good  people,  the  rights  of  the 
Indians  will  yet  be  defended.  1  have  many  fears  that  these 
efforts  will  not  be  made ;  but  I  have  no  doubt  that  every  finger 
lifted  now  in  behalf  of  the  weak  and  suffering,  will  ward  off 
loads  of  misery  from  a  portion  at  least  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States. 

"  Let  me  know  when  you  will  be  in  town,  as  I  will  endeavor 
so  to  arrange  matters  that  you  shall  see  Mr.  Webster,  Mr. 
Everett,  and  others. 

"  P.  S.  1  do  think  the  matter  is  important  enough  for  a  journey 
of  forty  miles,     [t  may  well  demand  that  one  hundred   thousand 


400  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

of  our   people  should   make  a  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem,  if  such  a 
pilgrimage  would  aid  in  averting  the  evil." 

TO    E.    LORD,    ESQ, 

Boston,  October  13,1830. 

"  I  regretted  much,  that  you  were  providentially  hindered  from 
attending  with  us  to  our  annual  business,  as  I  wished  to  confer 
with  you  on  the  Indian   question. 

"  The  meeting  was  an  interesting  one.  There  was  some  dif- 
ference of  opinion,  as  to  the  expediency  of  expressing  our  views 
in  regard  to  the  claims  of  Georgia  over  the  Cherokees.  Yet  a 
resolution  passed  on  that  subject,  as  you  will  see  by  the  papers  ; 
and  another,  requesting  the  Committee  to  prepare  a  petition  to 
Congress.  The  latter  passed  unanimously,  though  with  the  un- 
derstanding that  the  rights  of  the  Indians  by  treaty  should  not  be 
insisted  on,  because  some  members  of  the  Board,  perhaps  a  quar- 
ter of  those  who  were  present,  thought  that  would  be  such  an 
interference  with  politics,  as  a  missionary  society  should  not  be 
chargeable  with.  In  my  apprehension,  this  was  altogether  a  mis- 
take ;  but,  for  the  sake  of  unanimity,  the  resolution  passed  with 
the  understanding  that  the  memorial  should  dwell  upon  the  inju- 
rious consequences  of  a  removal  to  the  Indians,  and  not  upon  the 
obligations  of  the  United  States  to  protect  them  where  they  are. 
This  part  of  the  case,  it  was  alleged,  might  be  presented  by  indi- 
viduals, and  not  by  a  religious  incorporated  body. 

"  The  subject  of  raising  funds,  or  of  pressing  the  claims  of  the 
heathen  upon  the  Christian  public,  drew  forth  much  and  very 
able  discussion.  It  was  matter  of  much  regret,  that  so  few  peo- 
ple were  present  to  hear  it,  and  so  few  members  to  participate  in 
it :  for  the  most  interesting  discussion  of  all  was  on  Saturday, 
when  several  members  had  left  the  city. 

"  In  regard  to  the  Indian  question,  I  think  much  remains  to  be 
done  by  the  friends  of  justice  and  our  country's  honor,  especially 
in  our  large  cities. 

"  The  following  things  have  struck  me  as  desirable. 

"  1.  That  several  eminent  lawyers,  in  different  parts  of  the 
United  States,  should  give  their  opinions,  with  a  view  to  publica- 
tion.    That  some  of  these  opinions  should  be  given  without  a 


LIFE    OF   EVARTS.  401 

fee — volunteered  for  the  good  of  the  country — and  where  a  fee  is 
necessary,  it  should  be  raised  in  each  city  where  the  opinion  is 
asked. 

"  2.  That  petitions  should  be  circulated,  throughout  the  coun- 
try, praying  Congress :  1st.  To  repeal  the  Indian  bill.  2d.  If 
that  cannot  be  done,  to  make  no  more  appropriations  under  it. 
3d.  The  Senate  not  to  ratify  any  treaty  made  under  the  auspices 
of  that  bill. 

"  Beside  these  things,  there  ought  to  be  an  effort  made  to  en- 
gage all  good  writers  to  fill  the  papers  with  moving  appeals  on 
the  subject.  Those  members  of  Congress  who  feel  a  deep  in- 
terest in  the  subject,  should  be  induced  to  speak  early  in  the  ses- 
sion, and  to  keep  the  subject  constantly  before  the  two  houses. 

TO    REV.    GEORGE    POTTS. 

Missionary  Rooms,  November  2, 1830. 

"  A  year  ago  you  visited  the  Choctaws.  They  have  had  a 
season  of  persecution  and  suffering  since  that  time.  Lately  a 
treaty  has  been  wrested  from  them  in  a  most  unjustifiable  manner. 

"  I  would  respectfully  propose  it  to  you  and  to  the  good  people 
with  whom  you  associate,  whether  it  is  not  your  solemn  duty  to 
petition  Congress,  praying  that  justice  may  be  done,  and  disclaim- 
ing all  sanction  of  the  process  of  robbery  that  is  going  on.  How 
can  the  men  of  principle  in  Mississippi  clear  themselves  in  the 
sight  of  God,  unless  they  bear  testimony  against  these  most  fla- 
grant acts  of  injustice  ?  It  is  a  serious  question,  and  should  be 
very  seriously  considered.  I  write  to  you  as  a  decided  friend  of 
the  Indians  and  a  lover  of  fair  dealing.  A  petition  signed  by 
respectable  men  in  Natchez  would  have  a  great  effect  in  prevent- 
ing the  ratification  of  unfair  treaties.  If  the  Choctaws  are  re- 
moved in  the  manner  now  contemplated,  it  is  the  opinion  of  the 
missionaries,  and  it  is  our  opinion,  that  they  will  be  ruined  and 
the  tribe  destroyed.  Many  will  die  in  the  process  ;  and  this  will 
be  murder  on  the  part  of  all  who  have  urged  the  measure  regard- 
less of  the  rights  of  the  Indians,  and  of  all  who  might  have  raised 
a  voice  in  their  favor  and  would  not.  Those  parts  of  our  coun- 
try will  doubtless  have  the  largest  share  in  the  punishment,  which 
51 


402  l^^FE    OF   EVARTS. 

have  had  the  largest  share  in  the  crime  ;  and  every  friend  of  the 
South,  residing  there,  ought  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  stay  the 
plague  and  wipe  off  the  stain." 

TO    E.    LORD,    ESQ. 

Boston,  November  24,  1830. 

"  You  may  have  seen  that  the  National  Intelligencer  of  last 
Saturday  announces  two  essays  by  William  Penn,  as  soon  to  ap- 
pear in  that  paper.  These  essays  have  received  the  approbation 
of  gentlemen  as  competent  to  judge  what  the  present  crisis  de- 
mands, as  any  men  in  the  country. 

"  The  object  of  this  letter  is  to  request  that  you  will  exert 
yourself  and  make  influence  with  others,  to  have  those  numbers 
republished  in  the  Journal  of  Commerce,  the  Daily,  the  Ameri- 
can, and  the  Commercial,  as  soon  as  they  appear.  I  know  you 
will  appreciate  my  motives.  It  is  necessary  to  act  speedily,  if  we 
would  avoid  the  foulest  disgrace  that  ever  befell  an  intelligent 
people.  Wherever  these  essays  are  republished,  they  should  be 
accompanied  by  editorial  remarks. 

"  I  wish  I  could  be  in  New  York  next  week,  with  a  view  to 
consult  with  you  and  others  on  this  subject.  Among  the  mea- 
sures which  I  think  ought  to  be  taken  in  your  city,  are  these. 

"  1.     The  raising  an  adequate  fund  to  print  on  this  subject. 

"  2.  The  publication  of  a  large  edition  of  Mr.  Wirt's  opinion, 
with  some  brief  remarks  to  aid  it. 

"3.  The  printing  of  numerous  copies  of  some  of  the  principal 
speeches  on  the  Indian  bill ;  viz.  Mr.  Storrs's,  Mr.  Bates's,  Mr. 
Everett's,  he.     Stereotype  plates,  you  know,  are  on  hand. 

"  4.  The  sending  as  many  of  Mr.  Wirt's  opinion  and  these 
speeches  to  Washington,  as  members  of  Congress  on  the  right 
side  would  be  willing  to  frank  to  their  friends  in  all  parts  of  the 
United  States. 

"  5.  The  sending  forth  a  circular  letter  to  all  parts  of  the 
country,  soliciting  petitions  in  behalf  of  the  Indians. 

"  6.  The  writing  and  publishing  a  good,  animated,  and  cogent 
form  of  a  petition,  as  an  example  and  model. 

"  7.  The  procuring  this  petition  to  be  signed  in  New  York  by 
as  many  as  possible. 


LIFE    OF   EVARTS.  403 

"  Generally,  the  rousing  up  as  much  public  feeling  in  behalf  of 
the  Indians,  and  as  much  indignation  against  the  mean,  false,  and 
treacherous  course  pursued  at  present,  as  possible. 

"  In  a  vvoid,  if  the  Indians  are  destroyed,  and  our  country  is 
deeply  and  permanently  disgraced,  let  the  reproach  be  wiped  off, 
as  far  as  possible,  from  the  religious  and  public-spirited  portion  of 
the  community." 

Meantime  the  ordinary  business  of  the  Board  was  calling  for 
unusual  labors,  especially  in  regard  to  the  sending  out  of  a  rein- 
forcement to  the  Sandwich  Islands  mission.  "  I  doubt  not,"  writes 
Mr.  Evarts  to  an  associate  on  the  Prudential  Committee,  "  I 
doubt  not  you  feel  with  me,  that  our  responsibilities  are  assuming 
a  more  weighty  character  than  ever  before  ;  and  that  we  have 
serious  difficulties  to  contend  with.  As  to  our  proposed  excursion 
to  Exeter,  [to  attend  a  missionary  meeting,]  I  must  be  excused 
from  going,  if  other  arrangements  can  be  made  ;  if  not,  I  will  go. 
The  fact  is,  there  are  a  great  many  more  things  to  be  done  here 
[at  his  office]  than  can  possibly  be  accomplished." 

About  the  middle  of  December,  he  visited  New  Bedford  to 
superintend  the  embarkation  of  missionaries,  and  to  attend  mis- 
sionary meetings  in  the  vicinity.  In  this  he  spent  about  two  weeks 
of  hard  and  exciting  labor,  and  exposed  often  to  weather  exceed- 
ingly unfavorable  to  his  health,  of  the  failure  of  which  he  had 
before  received  decided  admonition.  His  time  was  employed  in 
consultation  with  the  missionaries  and  arranging  their  concerns  ; 
in  writing  the  official  Instructions,  and  numerous  letters  to  the 
missionaries  and  chiefs  at  the  Islands  ;  in  attending  meetings,  and 
in  other  ways  holding  intercourse  with  the  people  of  New  Bedford 
and  the  neighboring  towns  for  the  purpose  of  securing  among 
them  a  warmer  interest  in  the  operations  of  the  Board.  Other 
subjects,  however,  were  by  no  means  excluded  from  his  thoughts, 
as  the  following  passages  from  his  journal,  addressed  to  a  friend 
and  fellow-laborer,  shows  : 

"  Fall  River,  a  quarter  before  12  o'clock,  December  20.  I 
now  retire  to  rest,  but  must  mention  that  I  have  read  this  evening, 
in  the  Christian  Spectator  for  December,  part  of  the  Review  of 


404  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

Sprague's  Lectures.  I  wish  you  to  read  from  page  651  to  the 
end  of  the  article.  On  page  652  you  will  find  thoughts  like  those 
in  the  close  of  our  last  Report.  That  and  the  next  page  are 
powerfully  written.  Blessed  is  the  man  who  warns  his  country- 
men of  their  dangers,  and  rouses  Christians  to  the  proper  state  of 
activity.  On  page  656  is  a  powerful  expostulation  with  parents 
on  doing  what  they  can  to  fix  the  character  of  their  children  as 
friends  of  God  ;  and  the  next  page  has  a  most  indignant  repro- 
bation of  the  seducers  and  destroyers  of  youth  by  means  of  vice 
and  infidelity.  I  have  seldom  been  more  deeply  affected  in  re- 
gard to  my  responsibility  as  a  parent,  than  by  this  article. 

"  21st.  Evening.  Met  gentlemen  at  Mr.  Holmes's,  and  spent 
the  greater  part  of  the  evening  in  conversation  on  the  Indian 
question.  It  was  resolved  to  call  a  meeting  of  friends  of  the 
Indians,  at  some  day  within  a  short  time,  with  the  view  of  peti- 
tioning in  their  behalf.  Conversed  also  about  a  subscription  here 
in  aid  of  our  mission,  besides  a  collection.  This  was  agreed  upon, 
though  rather  in  a  faint  manner. 

"  26.  Sabbath.  I  have  thought  jnuch  this  morning  on  the 
wisdom  of  living  habitually  in  such  a  state  that  death  could  not 
take  me  by  surprise;  by  which  I  mean,  that  trust  in  God  should 
be  so  constantly  in  exercise,  and  the  fear  of  offending  Him  so  pre- 
dominant, and  faith  in  the  Saviour  so  lively,  that  a  known  sum- 
mons to  leave  the  world  should  create  neither  apprehension  nor 
alarm.  How  far  I  have  been,  or  am,  in  possession  of  such  a  state 
of  mind,  there  would  be  no  use  in  my  declaring  ;  but  I  do  most 
seriously  desire  that  all  my  friends  should  seek  after  and  obtain  it. 

"  28.  At  sunrise,  the  bell  of  Mr.  Holmes's  church  tolled  as  a 
signal  for  the  embarkation  of  the  missionaries.  We  immediately 
repaired  to  the  wharf,  where  a  parting  hymn  was  sung,  and  a 
prayer  was  offered  by  Dr.  Wisner.  Many  persons  of  both  sexes 
were  present.  The  scene  was  deeply  affecting  to  many.  We 
took  a  hasty  and  affectionate  leave  of  the  missionaries,  as  the 
sloop  which  conveyed  them  was  about  leaving  the  wharf." 

As  it  is  the  last  paper  of  the  kind  which  he  wrote,  and  as  ex- 
hibiting in  a  strong  light  the  views  of  Mr.  Evarts  on  some  impor- 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  405 

tant  topics  connected  with  missions,  extracts  from  the  Instructions 
which  he  prepared  and  delivered  at  this  time,  are  here  copied  : 

"  Besides  the  general  importance  of  the  objects  to  -which  you 
are  devoted,  there  is  another  consideration  which  makes  it  proper 
that  the  Committee  should  address  you  pubUcly.  We  refer  to  the 
pubhc  relation  which  subsists  between  missionaries  and  those  to 
whom  the  friends  of  missions  have  intrusted  the  responsil)le  ser- 
vice of  senchng  forth,  superintending,  and  directing  evangelical 
laborers.  However  inadequately  we  may  discharge  the  duties 
assigned  us,  it  is  proper  that  these  duties  should  be  publicly  rec- 
ognized. How  arduous  the  suitable  supervision  of  missionary 
concerns  is,  the  great  body  of  Christians  have  little  apprehension. 
Even  you  will  probably  never  know,  though  after  a  few  years  you 
may  have  had  such  experience  as  will  enable  you  to  imagine, 
with  what  trembling  solicitude  despatches  from  missionary  stations 
are  frequently  opened  ; — how  the  heart  sickens  and  almost  faints, 
lest  evil  tidings  should  arrive,  and  lest,  through  the  opposition  of 
wicked  men,  and  the  wiles  of  Satan,  or  the  injudicious  manage- 
ment of  the  Committee,  or  the  imperfection  of  missionaries,  or  the 
removal  of  valuable  men  by  death,  or  some  other  adverse  occur- 
rence, the  cause  should  suffer,  the  designs  of  good,  men  should  be 
defeated,  and  the  heaihen  should  not  receive  the  benefit  intended 
for  them.  Very  often,  on  the  other  hand,  tears  of  joy  and  grati- 
tude start  into  the  eye,  as  it  runs  over  pages  written  by  a  beloved 
missionary, — one  who  relates  wonderful  things,  which  God  has 
done  and  is  doing  by  feeble  instrumentality,  and  who  describes 
the  manner  in  which  the  designs  of  the  great  adversary  are 
thwarted,  and  the  gospel  is  promoted  by  attempts  to  obstruct  its 
progress. 

"  Be  assured,  beloved  friends,  that  between  the  members  of  this 
Committee  and  all  faithful  missionaries,  there  arises  a  personal 
attachment,  which  grows  stronger,  as  the  occasions  for  bringing  it 
into  exercise  increase  in  number  and  importance.  This  remark  is 
made  the  rather,  as  you  have  had  fewer  opportunities  of  ])ersonal 
acquaintance  with  the  Committee,  than  have  happened  in  regard 
to  individuals  composing  any  previous  reinforcement  to  the  Sand- 
wich Islands.  In  the  language  of  the  apostle,  it  is  in  our  hearts  to 
live  and  die  with  you ;  that  is,  so  long  as  life  remains,  we  wish  to 
co-operate  with  you  constantly,  heartily,  and  most  affectionately, 
for  the  promulgation  of  the  gospel. 

"  When  the  lassitude  of  a  sultry  climate  oppresses  you,  and 
tempts  you  to  indolence,  remember  that  you  have  no  time  to  be 
idle ;  for  you  are  executing  an  agency  which  is  of  unspeakable 
importance,  and  admits  of  no  delay.  When  you  are  provoked  by 
the  ingratitude  of  those  for  whom  you  labor,  or  the  machinations 
of  opposers,  or  the  treachery  of  false  friends,  (if  you  should  be 
called  to  these  trials,)  remember  that  you  have  no  time  to  be 
peevish  or  angry ;  for  you  are  discharging  duties  which  have  re- 
spect to  eternity.  When  you  are  tempted  to  be  vain  and  self-com- 
placent on  account  of  any  remarkable  success  with  which  your 


406  LIFE  OF  EVARTS. 

labors  may  have  been  crowned,  or  any  peculiar  approbation  which 
you  may  have  received  from  your  fellow-laborers,  or  the  Chris- 
tian public, — remember  that  these  things,  considered  in  them- 
selves, are  too  small  to  occupy  your  thoughts,  or  to  hinder  you  in 
your  work.  Aim  rather  at  that  fidelity  in  executing  your  commis- 
sion, which  shall  be  followed  by  the  commendation  of  your  Lord. 
This  seeking  the  favor  of  God  will  never  interrupt  your  labors, 
nor  impair  your  energy,  nor  distract  your  thoughts,  nor  be  in  any 
measure  incompatible  with  the  highest  estimate  of  your  calling. 

"  Permit  us  to  urge  upon  you  here  the  consideration,  tluit  your 
calling  requires  great  diligence.  This  is  partly  implied  in  what  has 
been  already  said ;  but  it  deserves  a  more  particular  exhibition. 
Very  seldom  is  any  thing  valuable  acquired  among  men  without 
diligence.  The  wise  man  said,  long  ago,  the  diligent  hand  makcth 
rick ;  and  the  farmer,  the  artisan,  the  mariner,  the  merchant,  have 
found,  in  every  age,  that  diligence  alone  affords  a  reasonable  as- 
surance of  success.  Much  more  strongly  does  this  appear  in  ref- 
erence to  moral  things.  Men  are  naturally  in  a  wayward  state  ; 
and  this  trait  of  character  is  very  prominent,  in  all  heathen  nations. 
It  is  hard  to  correct  them.  It  is  hard  to  reform  them.  It  is  gener- 
ally hard  lo  enlighten  them ;  and  it  is  harder  still  to  make  them 
deeply  sensible  that  they  are  sinners  and  need  salvation.  All 
these  things  have  been  done  ;  and,  with  the  blessing  of  God,  will 
be  done  again:  but,  in  the  doing  of  them,  great  diligence  is  neces- 
sary. Divine  truth  must  be  communicated  in  many  ways,  and  on 
all  occasions.  Admonition,  exhortation,  reproof,  must  be  adminis- 
tered. The  law  of  kindness  must  be  on  the  lips  of  the  faithful 
missionary,  and  the  law  of  benevolence  must  per])etually  warm 
his  heart. 

"  Besides,  you  will  always  have  much  to  do  to  regulate  your 
private  and  personal  afiairs  in  a  strange  land,  and  among  a  strange 
people.  The  correspondence  with  your  patrons  and  friends  at 
home,  the  duties  of  hospitality,  the  preparations  for  public  preach- 
ing and  teaching,  the  superintendence  of  schools,  the  translation 
and  distribution  of  the  Scriptures,  tracts,  and  school-books,  and 
other  cares  incident  to  these,  would  occupy,  if  it  were  possible  for 
you  to  bear  such  labor,  every  hour  of  the  day  and  the  night.  Add 
to  these  things  the  vicissitudes  of  sickness  and  pain,  of  disappoint- 
ment and  bereavement,  and  it  is  evident  that  your  lives,  if  you 
would  be  faithful,  must  present  a  series  of  incessant  labors. 

"  We  know  it  has  been  said  by  the  enemies  of  missions,  that 
young  men  and  women  go  abroad  on  missionary  service  for  the 
sake  of  leading  an  easy  life.  The  time  of  this  assembly  will  not 
be  wasted,  however,  by  a  formal  refutation  of  this  thoughtless  ob- 
jection. 

"  You,  who  have  consecrated  yourselves  to  this  service,  can 
doubtless  testify  that  you  always  regarded  the  life  of  a  mission- 
ary as  a  life  of  severe  labor.  So  your  friends  and  relatives  have 
regarded  it.  And  the  individuals  here  assembled  will  testify  that 
your  patrons  represent  it  in  no  other  light.  Nothing  that  is  writ- 
ten or  said  on  the  subject,  either  by  missionaries,  or  the  directors 
of  missions,  can  authorize  any  other  expectation.     Still,  it  may  not 


LIFE    OF  EVARTS.  407 

be  useless  to  bring  the  matter  distinctly  before  you  on  this  occa- 
sion. It  is  much  easier  to  expect  to  be  laborious,  and  to  resolve  to 
be  so,  than  to  hold  out  in  a  laborious  public  service  for  a  long  suc- 
cession of  years.  Most  men  are  induced  to  labor  only  by  the  pres- 
sure of  necessity,  or  the  strong  impulse  of  avarice  or  ambition  ;  and 
it  is  not  every  true  Christian,  nor  eveiy  missionary,  who  has  benev- 
olence enough  to  carry  him  through  a  life  of  unremitted  exertions, 
made  solely  for  the  benefit  of  others.  The  virtues  of  dihgence 
and  industry  are  to  be  cultivated,  therefore,  and  cherished,  as 
Christian  graces.  They  are  not  to  be  obtained  without  an  effort. 
They  cannnot  be  formed  into  a  habit,  except  by  great  resolution 
and  perseverance ;  and,  unless  formed  into  a  habit,  labi>r  will 
always  be  irksome. 

"  One  temptation  to  remit  your  diligence  will  arise  from  the 
changes  of  situation  and  circumstances  to  which  missionary  un- 
dertaldn^  are  exposed.  You  may,  in  certain  circumstances,  be 
apt  to  thmk  that  some  time  hence,  when  a  particular  advantage 
shall  have  been  gained,  or  a  particular  obstruction  removed,  you 
will  begin  to  labor  with  great  vigor  and  zeal ;  but  that  now  you 
can  do  little  with  a  prospect  of  success.  The  question  should  not 
be,  however,  what  you  may  hope  to  do  hereafter;  but  what  you 
can  do  now.  Let  it  be  a  settled  purpose,  followed  by  a  corres- 
ponding practice,  that  you  will  every  day  do  something  for  the 
spiritual  good  of  your  fellow-men ;  and  that  this  something  shall 
be  the  very  best  thing  which,  in  the  circumstances  of  the  case, 
you  can  do  ;  and  after  pursuing  this  practice  for  years,  you  will 
find  that  you  have  done  much  for  the  cause  of  God.  The  very 
least  that  you  can  have  done  will  be,  that  you  have  left  a  standing 
and  consistent  testimony  to  the  power  of  your  benevolence, — to 
the  divine  principles  which  led  you  forth  to  the  heathen, —  to  your 
confidence  in  the  efficacy  of  the  gospel, — and  to  3^our  firm  belief 
in  the  retributions  of  eternity.  Such  a  testimony,  borne  for  a  length 
of  time,  cannot  be  without  good  effects.  But  the  probability  is 
very  great,  that  you  will  behold  many  direct  proofs  of  your  fidelity, 
and  that  the  angels  of  God  will  rejoice  in  heaven  over  many  souls 
brought  to  repentance  through  your  spiritual  diligence. 

"  The  most  touching  motives  to  such  persevering  activity  in  the 
cause  of  God,  are  found  throughout  the  New  Testament;  but 
especially  the  examples  of  Paul  and  the  other  apostles,  and  of 
Christ  himself,  should  be  sufficient  to  banish  all  tendency  to  self- 
indulgence,  and  to  stimulate  the  most  sluggish  to  unwearied  exer- 
tion And  when,  to  the  example  of  our  blessed  Saviour,  are  added 
his  description  of  tloe  fields  ivhitefor  the  harvest,  and  his  command 
to  icork  while  the  day  lasts,  for  the  night  cometh,  imchich  no  man  can 
xonrk,  it  should  seem  that  no  missionary  will  think  of  excusing  him- 
self from  a  course  which  was  sanctioned  by  such  authority,  and 
is  commended  by  so  many  powerful  considerations. 

"  Let  it  not  be  supposed  that  a  life  of  labor  is  of  necessity  a  life 
of  pain,  anxiety,  and  sorrow.  Far  from  it.  Probably  no  mere 
man  ever  had  more  exalted  enjoyments  than  the  apostle  Paul ; 
and  certainly  no  mere  man  ever  encountered  more  severe,  con- 
stant, and  unwearied  labors.     The  great  secret  of  making  a  labo- 


408  LIFE   OF   EVARTS. 

rioiis  life  pleasant,  or  even  tolerable,  consists  in  making  the  par- 
ticular acts  of  labor,  which  are  performed  daily,  a  gratification. 
When  this  is  done,  the  great  i)oint  is  gained.  Let  it  be  urged  upon 
you,  then,  my  dear  friends,  to  make  your  calculation  for  obtaining 
the  greater  part  of  your  enjoyment,  as  you  are  passing  through  the 
world,  from  strenuous  labor.  After  taking  suitable  care  of  your 
health,  let  labor  be  sought  as  regularly  as  your  daily  food,  till  it 
becomes  as  easy  and  natural  to  be  engaged  in  some  useful  employ- 
ment, as  it  is  to  breathe. 

"  From  the  very  commencement  of  your  missionary  life,  cultivate 
a  spirit  of  enterprise.  Without  such  a  spirit,  nothing  great  will  be 
achieved  in  any  human  pursuit.  And  this  is  an  age  of  enterprise, 
to  a  remarkable  and  un[)recedented  extent.  In  manufactures,  in 
the  mechanic  arts,  in  agriculture,  in  education,  in  the  science  of 
government,  men  are  awake  and  active;  their  minds  are  all  on 
the  alert;  their  ingenuity  is  tasked  ;  and  they  are  making' improve- 
ments with  the  greatest  zeal.  Shall  not  the  same  enterprise  be 
seen  in  moral  and  religious  things  ?  Shall  not  missionaries,  espe- 
cially, aim  at  making  discoveries  and  improvements  in  the  noblest 
of  all  practical  sciences, — that  of  applying  the  means  which  God 
has  provided  for  the  moral  renovation  of  the  world  ?  There  are 
many  problems  yet  to  be  solved,  before  it  can  be  said  that  the  best 
mode  of  administering  missionary  concerns  has  been  discovered. 
What  degree  of  expense  shall  be  incurred  in  the  support  of  mis- 
sionary families,  so  as  to  secure  the  greatest  possible  efficiency, 
with  a  given  amount  of  money  ; — how  to  dispose  of  the  children 
of  missionaries  in  a  manner  most  grateful  to  their  parents,  and 
most  creditable  to  the  cause  ; — in  what  proportion  to  spend  money 
and  time  upon  the  education  of  the  heathen,  as  a  distinct  thing 
from  preaching  the  gospel ; — how  far  the  press  should  be  employed; 
— by  what  means  the  attention  of  the  heathen  can  be  best  gained 
at  the  beginning ; — how  their  wayward  practices  and  habits  can 
be  best  restrained  and  corrected  ; — how  the  intercourse  between 
missionaries  and  the  Christian  world  can  be  conducted  in  the  best 
manner,  so  as  to  secure  the  highest  responsibility  and  the  most 
entire  confidence  ;  and  how  the  suitable  proportion  between  min- 
isters of  the  gospel  retained  at  home  and  missionaries  seni  abroad, 
is  to  be  fixed  in  practice  as  well  as  in  principle : — all  these  things 
present  questions  yet  to  be  solved. 

"  There  is  room  for  boundless  enterprise,  therefore,  in  the  great 
missionary  field,  which  is  the  world  ;  and  blessed  will  be  the  name 
of  that  man  by  whose  perspicacious  diligence  new  and  effectual 
measures  for  bringing  the  gospel  to  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the 
the  heathen  shall  have  been  discovered." 

Mr.  Evarts  immediately  returned  to  Boston,  but  reached  home 
much  debilitated.  He  proceeded,  however,  to  prepare  the  Memo- 
rial of  the  Board  to  Congress  on  the  state  of  the  Indians,  to  write 
various  important  official  letters,  and  to  put  all  his  secular  affairs 
in  the  most  perfect  order  for  his  contemplated  absence,  expecting 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  409 

to  proceed  to  Washington  to  do  what  might  be  practicable  there 
on  behalf  of  the  Indians,  and  thence  on  an  agency  in  the  middle 
or  south-western  States.  His  active  correspondence  with  eminent 
members  of  Congress  and  with  other  gentlemen,  in  regard  to 
Indian  afFairs,  was  continued,  and  he  was  daily  consulted  upon 
all  the  leading  movements  of  the  season,  legislative  and  other, 
upon  the  subject.  His  friends  at  Washington  kept  him  advised 
of  every  movement  there,  and  of  the  dispositions  that  prevailed, 
and  urged  his  presence  ;  and  he  continued,  though  with  obviously 
failing  health,  to  cherish  his  plan  for  spending  the  winter  and  spring 
as  above  mentioned,  till,  early  in  February,  he  was  advised  that  it 
was  necessary  to  relinquish  business,  and  to  seek  immediately  a  tropi- 
cal climate.  On  the  2d  of  February  the  Memorial  of  the  Board 
was  sent  on  to  Mr.  Everett,  with  a  letter  expressing  the  hope  that 
improving  health  would  soon  enable  him  to  follow.  On  the  14th, 
that  hope  had  fled,  and  he  wrote  to  another  friend  at  Washington 
as  follows : 

TO    HON.    I.    C.    BATES. 

Boston,  February  14,  1S31. 

"  My  health  Is  too  feeble  to  think  of  seeing  Washington  this 
winter.     I  expect  to  embark  in  a  few  days  for  the  Havana. 

"This  is  a  great  disappointment  to  me,  but  it  is  an  allotment 
of  Providence  to  which  I  reverentially  submit.  God  doeth  all 
things  well. 

''Please  to  tell  Messrs.  Taylor,  Ridge,  and  Goody,*  that  I 
would  cheerfully  have  given  them  my  best  service,  however  fee- 
ble, if  I  had  been  permitted  to  meet  them. 

"  Let  them  be  encouraged.  God  will  yet  interpose,  as  I  hope, 
for  their  people. 

"  P.  S.  Please  to  tell  Mr.  Taylor  and  his  colleagues,  that  we 
have  strongly  advised  our  missionaries  in  the  Cherokee  nation  not 
to  leave  on  account  of  the  new  Georgia  law,  which  was  doubtless 
aimed  at  them,  and  which  will  expose  them  to  the  penitentiary 
at  least  four  years,  for  simply  residing  on  Cherokee  territory  after 
the  1st  of  March. 

*  Delegates  of  the  Cherokee  nation. 

52 


410  LIFE   OF   EVARTS. 

"  Mr.  Worcester  has  written  that  he  has  made  up  his  mind  to 
stay  and  take  the  consequences,  unless  we  advise  otherwise. 

"  The  public  sentiment  here  is  in  favor  of  the  missionaries  going 
cheerfully  to  the  State  Prison  ;  but  the  Cherokees  must  be  ready 
to  do  the  same,  and  wait  the  operation  of  law." 

This  was  his  last  letter  to  Washington.  The  next  day  he 
embarked  for  Havana  ;  and  a  note  of  sympathy  and  friendship 
from  Mr.  Everett,  written  at  the  close  of  an  honorable  but  inef- 
fectual endeavor,  on  his  part,  to  secure  a  proper  re-hearing  of  the 
case  of  the  Indians,  closed  sadly  his  intercourse  on  earth  with  his 
friends  in  Congress. 

He  had  a  favorable  passage,  and  arrived  at  Havana  on  the  sec- 
ond of  March,  without  any  improvement  of  his  health.  There, 
and  at  the  hospitable  mansion  of  Mrs.  Jenckes,  near  Matanzas,  he 
remained,  enjoying  every  advantage  of  climate  and  the  kindest  at- 
tentions, with  health,  as  he  thought,  gradually  improving,  *  till  the 
eighteenth  of  April,  when  he  embarked  for  f  Savannah.  There 
he  arrived  on  the  24lh,  much  exhausted  by  the  brief  voyage. 
After  remaining  one  week,  his  friends  most  assiduously  adminis- 
tering to  his  comfort,  he  proceeded  by  water  to  Charleston,  which 
city  he  reached  on  the  3d  of  May.  There,  in  the  family  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Palmer,  pastor  of  the  Circular  Church,  and  surrounded 
by  a  circle  of  acquaintance,  every  thing  which  friendship  or  med- 
ical skill  could  suggest,  was  done  to  restore  vigor  and  health  to 
his  diseased  system,  but  without  effect.  He  steadily  and  rapidly 
declined,  and  it  was  soon  evident  that  his  labors  on  earth  were 
drawing  to  a  close. 

Previous  to  his  departure  from  home,  he  had  manifested  an  un- 
usually spiritual  state  of  mind.  There  was  a  solemnity  of  con- 
versation and  demeanor,  a  tenderness  of  affection  towards  his 
family  and  friends,  a  thankfulness  for  every  thing  done  for  him,  a 
quiet  committing  of  himself  and  family,  and  of  all  the  great  in- 
terests in  which  he  was  concerned,  into  the  hands  of  his  Heavenly 
Father,  which   were   uncommon   even    for  him,  and  wholly   inde- 

*  Subsequent  events  show  that  this  was  nothing  more  than  a  slight  temporary  relief 
in  regard  to  some  symptoms, 
t  The  private  memorandum  was  about  this  lime. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  411 

scribable.  He  faithfully  counselled  every  member  of  his  family, 
and  did  every  thing  and  said  every  thing  which  would  have  been 
expected,  and  in  the  very  spirit  which  would  have  become  him, 
if  he  had  known  that  he  should  never  return.  Indeed,  this  appa- 
rent completion  of  his  work  and  this  striking  meetness  for  the 
heavenly  world,  occasioned  a  sort  of  secret  foreboding  in  his 
friends  that  they  should  see  him  no  more. 

He  remained  in  the  same  calm  and  devout  frame  through  the 
whole  of  his  sickness.  On  his  voyage  his  mind,  he  remarked, 
"  was  peaceful,  though  solemn."  '•  I  have  been  entirely  free 
from  anxiety — have  daily  consecrated  myself  to  God,  and  felt 
happy  in  being  in  his  hands  and  waiting  his  pleasure." 

While  crossing  the  Bahama  Banks,  Sabbath,  Feb.  27th,  he 
wrote  : — "  Daily,  and  many  times  a  day,  I  have  been  disposed, 
I  trust,  to  acknowledge  the  goodness  of  God,  and  to  consecrate 
myself  anew  to  his  service.  I  had  thought  of  making  a  formal 
and  written  consecration  of  myself  to  the  Lord  this  forenoon  ;  but 
my  mind  is  so  weighed  down  by  my  feeble  body,  that  I  can  write 
nothing,  except  of  the  simplest  kind,  and  cannot  adequately  dwell 
upon  the  amazing  theme  of  being  a  servant  of  God,  and  of  having 
him  for  my  portion  forever."  And  a  few  hours  after  :  "  We  have 
turned  the  southwest  end  of  Abaco.  I  have  looked  at  this  work 
of  God,  which  it  is  not  likel}'  I  shall  see  again  ;  and  have  turned 
my  thoughts  many  times  to  the  great  and  blessed  Creator  of  all." 

"  Here,  in  this  sea,  I  consecrate  myself  to  God  as  my  chief 
good  : — to  him  as  my  Heavenly  Father,  infinitely  kind  and  tender 
of  his  children  ;  to  him  as  my  kind  and  merciful  Redeemer,  by 
whose  blood  and  merits  alone  I  do  hope  for  salvation ;  to  him  as 
the  beneficent  Renewer  and  Sanctifier  of  the  saved.  I  implore 
the  forgiveness  of  my  numerous  and  aggravated  transgressions  ; 
and  I  ask  that  my  remaining  time  and  strength  may  be  employed 
for  the  glory  of  God,  my  portion,  and  for  the  good  of  his  crea- 
tures." 

"  Whether  I  make  my  grave  on  the  land  or  in  the  ocean,  I 
submit  cheerfully  to  him.  It  will  be  as  he  pleases  ;  and  so  it  should 
be.  I  pray  that  the  circumstances  of  my  death,  be  it  sooner  or 
later,  may  be  favorable  to  religion  ;  that  [  may  not  deceive  myself 
in   the  great  concerns  of  my  soul ;  that  I  may  depart  in  peace, 


412  LIFE  OF  EVARTS. 

and  be  received,  through  infinite  mercy,  to  the  everlasting  kingdom 
of  my  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ." 

He  still  retained  the  same  thankfulness  for  every  favor  he  re- 
ceived. After  arriving  in  Cuba,  he  writes  : — "  1  have  a  thousand 
things  to  be  thankful  for  :  and  it  is  my  daily  prayer  that,  if  my 
health  should  be  fully  restored,  I  may  be  more  entirely  consecrated 
to  God,  than  at  any  previous  period  of  my  life."  "  I  cannot  be 
sufficiently  thankful  that  Providence  has  sent  me  to  so  good  a 
place  for  the  recovery  of  my  health  ;  where  I  liave  so  many  good 
things,  and  so  many  kind  attentions  from  strangers,  to  whom  I  am 
and  shall  be  under  great  obligations." 

The  missionary  cause  was  still  dear  to  his  heart,  and  its  inter- 
ests were  taken  into  the  account  in  all  his  plans.  In  writing  to 
his  associates  for  their  advice  respecting  the  course  to  be  pursued 
for  the  recovery  of  his  health,  he  says : — "  I  would  distinctly  pre- 
mise, what  has  been  so  often  said  before,  that  the  Committee  will 
advise  (as  I  wish  them  and  myself  to  decide  in  this  matter)  with 
a  single,  though  enlarged  view,  to  the  interests  of  the  missionary 
cause.  This  should  always  be  prominent,  both  in  profession  and 
in  fact.  Whatever  individuals  may  do  from  personal  considera- 
tions, or  from  a  regard  to  the  cause,  or  from  both  classes  of  mo- 
tives jointly,  it  has  always  been  the  maxim  of  the  Committee  to  act, 
as  a  Committee,  from  public  motives  only  ;  and  whenever  we  may 
have  failed  in  this  respect,  it  has  been  from  error  in  judgment, 
or  want  of  wisdom  or  firmness  ;  and  not  from  allowing  a  different 
principle  from  the  one  just  mentioned.''  In  a  subsequent  letter, 
remarking  on  a  voyage  to  England  and  travelling  in  this  country — 
the  two  courses  that  had  been  proposed  for  his  restoration  to 
health,  he  preferred  the  voyage,  "  if,"  he  adds,  "  the  prospect 
should  be  that  1  should  have  sufficient  vigor  while  abroad  to  make 
my  travels  useful  to  the  missionary  cause :  otherwise  I  should  not 
think  it  best  to  go,  though  it  promise  fairer  to  health  than  any 
other  course.  1  would  not  lift  a  finger  to  go  to  England,  (much 
and  long  as  I  have  venerated  that  country  and  a  portion  of  its  in- 
habitants,) unless  the  cause  of  Christ  would  be  promoted,  so  far  as 
we  can  judge,  by  such  a  visit."  At  a  later  date  :  "  I  keep  the 
missionary  cause  in  view  in  all  these  plans  ;  that  is,  I  seek  restor- 
ation for  the  sake  of  laboring  in  the  missionary  cause.     It  has  cer- 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  413 

tainly  boen  my  chosen  employment.  I  now  consecrate  myself  to 
God  for  this  cause.  If  he  needs  or  designs  to  accept  my  ser- 
vices, he  will  retain  them  :  if  not,  it  will  be  for  reasons  infinitely 
good  and  wise." 

The  Indians,  though  he  had  endeavored  to  dismiss  anxious  care 
respecting  them,  were  not  forgotten.  Referring  to  their  case  in  a 
letter,  he  remarked  : — "  I  have  not  allowed  this  subject  to  oppress 
my  mind  at  all.  It  has  been  a  standing  topic  in  my  prayers  ;  and 
1  have  endeavored  to  leave  it  quietly  to  the  disposition  of  Provi- 
dence." 

His  family  continued  to  share  in  his  affectionate  counsels  and 
prayers.  Describing  the  manner  in  which  he  spent  his  days,  and 
mentioning  his  wife,  and  his  children  by  name,  he  writes  :  "  I  early 
pray  for  you  and  for  other  relatives,  and  consecrate  myself  to  God 
for  the  day."  Again,  to  one  of  his  children: — "You  will  not 
forget  that  religion  is  the  great  thing  ;  that  it  is  to  be  sought  first 
of  all ;  that  nothing  else  is,  comparatively,  worthy  of  attention. 
It  is  beyond  expression  important  that  you,  at  this  period  of  your 
life,  make  it  the  first  object  of  desire  and  pursuit.  These  things 
you  have  often  heard  ;  but  I  feel  it  to  be  my  duty  to  call  your 
mind  particularly  and  solemnly  to  them.  My  own  mind  is  very 
frequently  upon  them." 

Before  leaving  Cuba,  he  received  intelligence  of  a  revival  of 
religion  in  Yale  College,  and  that  his  eldest  son*  was  a  partaker 
in  its  special  blessings. 

"This  news,"  he  writes,  "I  receive  with  most  devout  joy  and 
gratitude.  I  render  humble  and  hearty  thanks  to  God,  and  pray 
that  he  will  prevent  this  youth  from  being  deceived  or  mistaken  ; 
that  his  spiritual  advisers  may  be  faithful  and  wise  ;  and  that  he 
may  be  taught  by  the  Spirit  of  truth."  "  It  is  impossible  that  I 
should  write  to  John  at  such  length  as  I  could  wish.  He  needs  atten- 
tion constantly  and  immediately.  I  would  therefore  urgently  request 
Mr.  G.  to  write  him  a  long  and  faithful  letter  on  the  amazing  impor- 
tance of  being  a  thorough,  instead  of  a  feeble,  doubtful,  half-way 
Christian.     The  limes  demand  the  best  of  men  and  women  ;  and 

*  John  J.  Evarts,  then  in  College,  who  was  cut  off  in  the  bloom  of  life,  a  scholar 
and  Cliristian  of  high  promise,  anU  followed  his  father  to  his  rest  in  1S33,  at  the  age 
of  twenty-one. 


414  LIFE   OF   EVARTS. 

this  Is  the  certain,  and  only  certain  way  to  happiness,  while  pass- 
ing through  this  world."  To  liis  son  he  wrote : — "This  intelli- 
gence gave  me  great  joy.  I  immediately  gave  thanks  to  God  for 
it.  I  know  very  well  that  sometimes  reports  of  this  kind  are  pre- 
mature ;  and  that  young  persons  sometimes  deceive  themselves  ; 
yet  I  cannot  help  keeping  this  day,  as  far  as  possible,  as  a  day  of 
thanksgiving."  *'  And  now,  my  dear  son,  I  comniend  you  to  God 
in  Jesus  Christ,  praying  that  you  may  be  taught  by  the  Spirit ; 
that  your  College  teachers  and  others  may  be  faithful  to  your  soul; 
that  you  may  make  thorough  work  in  regard  to  the  state  of  your 
lieart,  and  a  consecration  of  yourself  to  God  ;  that  you  may  thus 
be  prepared,  in  the  best  and  only  sure  way,  for  happiness  in  this 
world  ;  that  you  may  be  useful  to  your  fellow  men,  and  look 
with  a  well  grounded  confidence  for  Heaven  at  last." 

"  I  have  prayed  for  you  daily,  and  more  than  once  a  day,  par- 
ticularly ;  the  burden  of  my  supplication  being  that  this  interesting 
lime  of  life — this  very  spring — might  not  pass,  and  leave  you 
without  religion.  I  should  be  glad  to  write  more,  but  my  weak- 
ness will  not  allow  it." 

"  P.  S.  Let  me  exhort  you  to  read  two  or  three,  or  more 
pages  of  Baxter's  Saints'  Rest,  very  deliberately  and  prayerfully 
every  day." 

As  Mr.  Evarts  walked  with  God  during  his  life,  so  when  he 
found  himself  near  the  grave,  and  already  entering  the  valley  of 
death,  he  was  assured  that  his  Lord  and  Saviour  was  with  him 
still.  There  was  nothing  in  the  prospect  dark  or  alarming.  He 
viewed  the  scene  around  him  and  watched  the  approaches  of 
death  with  entire  calmness  and  self-control.  On  Friday,  the  6th 
of  May,  four  days  before  his  departure,  a  number  of  ministers,  at 
liis  request,  met  him  in  his  chamber,  when,  though  exceedingly 
weak  and  prostrate,  he  addressed  them,  and  remarked  that  he 
knew  his  case  to  be  extremely  critical — that  he  found  it  pleas- 
ant to  be  in  the  hands  of  God,  who  would  do  all  things  well — and 
that  he  had  no  painful  solicitude  as  to  the  results  of  his  sickness, 
but  thought  it  his  duty  to  use  every  means  for  the  preservation  of 
life.  He  then  requested  an  interest  in  their  special  and  united 
prayers  : — 1st.  That  if  consistent  with  God's  will,  he  might  recov- 
er; 2ndly,  That  he  might  have   a  sweet  sense  of  pardoned  sin, 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  415 

and  unshaken  confidence  in  the  Saviour ;  3dly,  That  if  God  should 
spare  his  life,  he  might  be  wholly  and  entirely  the  Lord's,  conse- 
crated to  his  service  ;  and  4thly,  That,  if  it  should  please  God  to 
remove  him  by  this  sickness,  he  might  be  able  to  glorify  l)im  on  a 
bed  of  languishing  and  pain,  and  that  his  precious  cause  might  be 
promoted  by  his  death.  He  then  expressed  a  firm  and  abiding  hope 
in  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  seemed  like  a  little  child  sweetly  reclining 
on  the  arm  of  its  foithful  protector.  By  this  effort  he  was  so  much 
exhausted  that,  at  his  request,  the  persons  present  retired  to  anoih 
er  apartment  for  special  prayer. 

During  Saturday,  there  was  no  material  change  in  his  symptoms. 
Still,  however,  he  w^as  more  feeble,  and  his  pains  returned  with 
violence.  On  Saturday  evening  he  remarked  :  "  To-morrow  is  the 
rest  of  the  holy  Sabbath.  I  may  be  in  eternity  before  it  arrives. 
]\Iy  mind  is  so  weak  that  I  cannot  pursue  a  train  of  thought ;  hut  I 
bless  God,  it  is  tranquil.  ]\ot  my  will,  but  thine,  O  God,  be  done  !" 
To  one  who  remarked — We  hardly  know  how  to  spare  you  from 
the  missionary  cause,  he  said  :  "  Don't  mention  it,  don't  mention 
it  :  the  Lord  knows  best."  After  taking  a  little  food,  he  said  :  "  I 
shall  require  but  little  more  nourishment  in  this  world.  My  work 
is  almost  done — Jesus  reigns — blessed  be  he.  I  wish  to  lie  as  a 
penitent  sinner  at  the  foot  of  the  cross."  About  nine  o'clock  he 
breathed  out  a  short  but  comprehensive  prayer,  in  interrupted  and 
broken  petitions,  making  at  its  close  a  full  and  entire  surrender  of 
body  and  soul  into  the  Redeemer's  hands  ;  and  said  :  "  O  dear 
Saviour,  if  this  be  the  last  night  I  have  to  pray  on  earth, 
let  my  unworthy  prayer  be  exchanged  for  praise  in  thy  kingdom 
above.  Amen,  amen."  Speaking  of  his  family,  he  said  :  "  I 
pity  them  ;  but  God  is  a  faithful  God,  he  will  take  care  of  them — 
he  will  take  care  of  them — that  is  enough."  On  being  asked  if  he 
had  any  particular  message  to  send  them,  he  said  :  "  Give  ihem  my 
love — my  dying  love — the  Lord  reigns." 

On  Sabbath  morning  his  appearance  was  greatly  changed, 
and  during  the  day  he  was  gradually  sinking,  yet  able  to  con- 
verse. To  a  young  professor  of  religion  who  was  in  attendance, 
he  said  :  "  You  have  professed  religion  while  young  ;  so  did  \. 
I  rejoice  in  it.  All  I  have  to  say  to  you  is,  endeavor  to  aim  at 
high    attainments.     The    present  age    demands   great    things  of 


416  LIFE   OF   EVARTS. 

Christians.  Be  not  satisfied  with  being  half  a  Christian.  Be  en- 
tirely consecrated  to  his  service.  There  are  some  things  that  I 
could  do,  if  Providence  wills  that  I  should  get  better  ;  but  I  have 
no  will  of  my  own.  1  can  rejoice  that  I  am  in  the  hands  of  the 
Lord.  My  mind  is  perfectly  clear."  To  several  young  Chris- 
tians he  said  : — '"  I  feel  a  great  interest  in  young  Christians.  I 
want  to  exhort  you  to  help  each  other.  Live  near  to  God.  Be 
bold  in  his  service.  It  is  the  only  thing  worth  being  bold  in. 
Do  not  be  afraid.  The  Lord  be  with  you."  In  the  evening  he 
again  mentioned  his  family  with  much  emotion,  but  added,  "  I  am 
willing  to  go.  1  have  committed  them  all  to  God.  He  has  been 
good  to  them." 

On  the  morning  of  the  10th,  when  told,  in  answer  to  his  in- 
quiry, that  death  seemed  to  be  near,  he  said  : — '-'The  will  of  the 
Lord  be  done.  Attend  now  to  what  I  say,  as  to  the  words  of  a 
dying  man."  Then  naming  the  several  members  of  his  family  and 
other  relatives,  he  added: — "To  all  my  relations  and  friends, 
grace,  mercy,  and  peace  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  alone 
they  and  I  can  hope  to  be  saved.  And  I  wish  in  these  dying 
words  to  recognize  the  great  Redeemer  as  the  Saviour  from  sin  and 
hell ;  able  and  willing  to  save  all  that  come  unto  God  by  him. 
To  him  I  commend  my  spirit,  as  to  an  all-sufficient  Saviour.  He 
is  the  great  champion  and  conqueror  of  death  and  hell.  And  I 
recognize  the  great  Spirit  of  God  as  the  renovator  of  God's  elect ; 
and  herein,  if  I  gather  strength,  I  wish  to  recognize  and  acknowl- 
edge the  church  of  God,  containing  all  who  have  truly  dedicated 
themselves  to  him  in  a  true  and  everlasting  covenant.  And  here 
permit  me,  a  poor  unworthy  worm  of  the  dust,  to  give  thanks  to 
many  of  the  children  of  God,  from  whom  I  have  received  confi- 
dence, kindness,  and  favor,  as  a  disciple  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
And  one  more  duty  ;  if  in  any  respect  I  have  offended  the  chil- 
dren of  God,  I  ask  their  forgiveness.  If  I  have  grieved  them  by- 
impatience,  or  any  other  way,  I  ask  their  forgiveness." 

A  iesv  hours  after,  when  his  thoughts  were  evidently  fixed  on 
the  Saviour  and  the  heavenly  world,  he  was  asked, — Have  you 
any  thing  to  say  to  the  missionaries — any  message  ?  He  said  : 
''  Oh  yes,  oh  yes  ;  but  I  am  afraid  I  shall  make  distinctions — 
don't  let  me  make  distinctions."     No,  was   the  reply — all  the 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  417 

missionaries.  Does  the  missionary  cause  appear  more  precious 
and  important  than  ever  ?  After  a  considerable  pause,  and  with 
much  expression  of  countenance  and  emphasis  of  manner,  he  said: 
"  You  have  called  me  back  to  the  world  !" 

During  the  day,  he  had  seasons  of  pain  and  very  laborious 
breathing.  About  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening,  expecting  that  his 
time  was  come,  he  requested  to  be  laid  in  a  position  suitable  for 
the  occasion.  But  in  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  he  had  a  return 
of  violent  pain,  and  when  nearly  exhausted  he  said,  *•  Dear  Jesus." 
It  was  added : 

"  While  on  his  breast  I  lean  my  head, 
And  breathe  my  life  out  sweetly  there." 

Immediately  he  burst  forth    with   expressions  of  rapture    which  i 
cannot   be   described  : — "  Praise  him,  praise  him,  praise  him  in  a   \ 
way  which  you  know  not  of."     It   was  said,  you   will  soon  see    i 
Jesus   as   he   is,  and   you   will   then   know   how  to    praise   him.'  i 
"  Wonderful,    wonderful,   wonderful    glory.     We    cannot    under-  | 
stand — we   cannot   comprehend — wonderful   glory — I  will  praise    i 
him,  I  will  praise  him. — Who   are  in  the  room?     Call   all   in — 
call  all — let  a  great  many  come — I  wish  to  give  directions — won-    . 
derful — glory — Jesus   reigns."     All   the  members  of  the   family 
were  called  ;  but  before  they  could  be  assembled,  he  sank  down   / 
exhausted,  and  scarcely  spoke  again.     He  continued   to  breathe,/ 
free   from  any  paroxysm   of  pain,  until   a   quarter   before  eleven 
o'clock,  when  he  fell  asleep  in  Jesus. 

The  remains  of  Mr.  Evarts  were  brought  to  Boston,  and  re- 
pose in  the  family  vault  beneath  Park-street  Church — the  endear- 
ed resort  of  his  Sabbaths  for  so  many  years,  and  the  place  where 
he  had  enjoyed  so  much  at  his  favorite  meeting,  the  Monthly 
Concert  of  prayer  for  the  conversion  of  the  world. 

Under  the  direction  of  his  associates   of  the  Prudential   Com- 
mittee,  funeral   services   were   performed    in    the   chapel  of  tbe^ 
Theological  Seminary  at  Andover,  with   a  sermon   by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Woods  ;  and  their  loss  was  recorded  in  their  Minutes  in  the 
following  terms : 

''Resolved,  That  the  Committee  are  deeply  impressed  with 
the  great  loss  which  has  been  sustained  by  themselves  and  by  the 
53 


418  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

Board  in  whose  behalf  they  act,  and  by  the  cause  of  Christian 
benevolence  in  general,  in  the  removal,  by  death,  of  their  be- 
loved friend  and  associate,  Jkremiah  Evarts,  Esq.,  who,  from 
the  origin  of  the  Board,  has  been  devotedly  and  efficiently  en- 
gaged in  promoting  its  prosperity  and  usefulness,  in  the  offices  of 
Treasurer  and  Corresponding  Secretary,  and  as  a  member  of  this 
Committee.  While  they  bow  with  submission  to  this  severe 
stroke  of  a  wise  and  merciful  Providence,  the  Committee  desire  to 
acknowledge  with  devout  thankfulness  to  the  Giver  of  every  good 
and  perfect  gift,  the  disinterestedness  of  spirit,  the  comprehensive- 
ness of  views,  the  soundness  of  judgment,  the  accuracy  of  de- 
tail, the  laborious  industry,  the  undeviating  integrity,  the  uniform 
patience  and  kindness,  the  habitual  dependence  on  God,  and  the 
distinguished  ability  and  success,  which  characterized  the  efforts 
of  Mr.  Evarts  in  the  missionary  cause,  and  in  the  various  de- 
partments of  philanthropic  and  benevolent  exertion." 

A  minute  of  similar  tenor  was  adopted  at  the  next  annual 
meeting  of  the  Board,  as  a  just  tribute  to  one  who  had  "  devoted 
all  the  powers  of  his  strong,  sagacious  and  sanctified  mind  to  the 
cause  of  missions  among  the  heathen,  with  a  degree  of  zeal,  judg- 
ment, disinterestedness,  and  indefatigable  diligence  and  perse- 
verance, which  has  probably  never  been  exceeded  by  any  one 
occupying  a  similar  station,  and  which  commanded  the  universal 
confidence  of  the  friends  of  missions  to  whom  he  was  known,  in 
every  part  of  the  world." 

But  such  notices  represent  too  feebly  the  feeling  of  bereave- 
ment that  pervaded  the  whole  religious  community.  It  can  best 
be  imagined  by  reflecting  on  what  he  was,  and  on  the  relations 
that  he  had  sustained,  during  the  whole  active  period  of  his  life, 
to  the  religious  enterprises  of  the  time. 

"  It  is  by  no  means  easy,"  remarks  one  who  was  associated 
with  him  in  office  for  several  years,  "  it  is  by  no  means  easy  to 
analyze  such  a  character  as  that  of  Mr.  Evarts,  and  exhibit  the 
several  parts  in  detail.  We  do  not  contemplate  a  well  propor- 
tioned edifice  as  consisting  of  parts,  or  think  of  the  appearance 
or  separate  effect  of  each  stone  :  but  we  look  at  it  as  a  whole ; 
and  the  impression  on  our  minds  is  the  impression  made  by  it  as  a 
whole.     The  parts  of  his  character  were  so  adjusted   to  each 


LIFE  OF  EVARTS.  419 

Other,  and  so  interlocked,  that  the  separate  traits  were  scarcely- 
noticed.  So  in  his  labors  there  was  not  an  imposing  display  of 
some  one  great  qnality  ;  but  rather  a  harmonious  and  effective 
combination  of  all  the  useful  qualities  of  the  understanding  and 
the  heart.  His  character  may  be  best  learned  from  the  life  he 
lived,  and  the  labors  he  accomplished.  Only  some  of  its  general 
features,  as  exhibited  in  his  public  life,  will  be  attempted  here. 

"The  first  and  strongest  impression  which  Mr.  Evarts  made  on 
the  minds  of  others  was,  probably,  that  of  a  man  controlled  by  an 
enlightened  Christian  public  spirit.  He  felt  a  deep  interest  in 
the  welfare  of  his  fellow  men,  and  in  every  thing  that  could  affect 
their  happiness.  This  feeling  was  the  overflowing  of  genuine 
Christian  love,  [t  was  well  proportioned  to  the  objects  which 
called  it  forth,  and  often  rose  to  a  noble  enthusiasm.  It  was 
limited  to  no  party,  to  no  one  great  public  interest,  to  no  portion 
of  the  hunjan  family.  In  its  wide  range,  it  embraced  all,  and 
was  tenderly  concerned  for  all.  While  he  was  most  deeply  anx- 
ious for  the  spiritual  interests  of  mankind,  he  was  alive  to  every 
thing  that  tended  to  advance  knowledge  or  civilization,  or  to  im- 
prove their  political  or  social  condition.  Although  fully  aware  of 
the  duties  which  he  owed  to  himself  and  his  family,  and  uncom- 
monly faithful  in  discharging  them,  yet  he  regarded  himself  and 
them  as  living  for  the  public  good.  He  never  seemed  to  permit 
any  other  interest  to  come  into  competition  with  that.  He 
thought  for  it,  prayed  for  it,  labored  for  it  ;  without  once  asking 
what  thanks  or  what  emolument  would  be  secured,  or  what  hard- 
ship or  reproach  would  be  encountered. 

"  In  performing  the  labors  to  which  his  public  spirit  led  him, 
his  industry  was  untiring.  He  committed  himself  early  and  for 
life  to  the  public  service,  and  never  drew  back.  He  was  one  of 
the  very  few  men  who  will  labor  as  strenuously  and  perseveringly 
for  the  public  as  for  himself.  In  every  community  where  he  re- 
sided, and  in  all  the  societies  with  which  he  was  connected,  he 
was  willing  that  the  burden  of  the  labor  should  be  thrown  on 
him,  and  seldom  declined  any  service  assigned  to  him.  Nor  did 
he  wait  for  labor  to  be  imposed  upon  him  ;  he  sought  for  it  when- 
ever it  would  promote  the  public  good.  It  was  his  highest  en- 
joyment.    It  is  doubtful  whether  he  ever  failed  to  accomplish  any 


420  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

important  object  within  his  reach,  because  he  was  not  sufficiently 
interested  in  it,  or  because  it  would  require  too  great  effort. 
Though  of  a  feeble  constitution,  and  incapable  of  great  bodily 
exertion,  yet  few  men  could  endure  so  intense  and  long-continued 
mental  labor  without  exhaustion. 

"  Mr.  Evarts  was  eminently  enterprising.  He  cast  his  eye 
over  all  portions  of  society  around  him,  and  abroad  over  the 
world,  to  see  what  needed  to  be  done  ;  and  he  felt  a  responsibility 
for  seeing  it  done,  to  the  extent  of  his  ability  and  influence. 
What  was  within  his  power  he  would  undertake  ;  and  what  was 
not,  he  would  press  on  the  attention  of  others.  He  knew  well 
what  was  feasible,  and  how  to  select  means  for  its  accomplish- 
ment. His  plans  and  opinions  were  thoroughly  formed  and 
weighed,  and  their  bearings  examined  ;  so  that  he  dared  to  trust 
them,  and  defend  them.  While  he  had  no  attachment  to  old 
systems,  as  such,  he  had  no  fondness  for  change,  or  for  trying 
rash  experiments.  As  the  moving  power  which  impelled  him  to 
action  was  in  himself,  he  did  not  wait  to  be  urged  on  by  public 
opinion.  He  did  not  ask  whether  his  measures  would  meet  with 
public  favor,  but  whether  they  would  promote  the  public  good. 
If  they  would,  he  had  a  right  to  propose  them  first.  If  public 
opinion  was  not  right,  he  would  endeavor  to  correct  it.  It  must 
originate  with  some  individual,  and  it  mio;ht  as  well  originate  with 
him  as  with  another.  He  was,  perhaps,  generally  in  advance  of 
the  public  in  his  opinions.  His  ever  active  and  benevolent  mind 
was  much  employed  in  reflecting,  and  forming  opinions,  on  va- 
rious subjects  not  immediately  connected  with  his  business,  which 
enabled  him  to  write  or  give  counsel  with  little  apparent  premedi- 
tation, and  as  it  was  sometimes  thought,  with  too  much  haste  and 
positiveness.  The  fact  was,  that  the  subjects  were  not  new  to 
him,  but  had  received  his  deliberate  examination.  His  thoughts 
and  conversation  were  almost  always  on  public  objects  ;  and  he 
often  suggested  plans  for  benevolent  action,  to  which  they  who 
heard  him  wished  he  might  devote  his  life. 

"  Mr.  Evarts  possessed  a  large  share  of  true  courage ;  both 
that  which  elevates  the  mind  to  great  undertakings,  and  that 
which  preserves  it  undaunted  amidst  great  opposition  and  danger. 
Nothing  within   the   reach  of  human   power — nothing  certainly 


LIFE  OF  EVARTS.  421 

which  had  been  made  a  duty,  seemed  to  him  too  difficult,  relying 
on  divine  aid,  to  be  attempted.  Nor  did  he  excuse  himself  from 
arduous  labors,  on  the  plea  that  they  belonged  to  more  able  men, 
and  thus  leave  them  undone.  He  would  make  the  endeavor  him- 
self. Yet  he  was  always  willing  to  avail  himself  of  tiie  counsel 
and  co-operation  of  others,  and  readily  acknowledged  his  obliga- 
tions to  them.  He  did  not  waste  time  in  inquiries  whether  he 
should  succeed  or  not.  He  would  do  what  he  could,  and  clear 
himself,  so  as  not  afterwards  to  be  pained  with  the  conviction, 
that  the  cause  had  failed  through  his  dilatoriness  or  inefficiency. 
To  that  timidity  which  is  always  predicting  defeat,  that  pusillanim- 
ity which  does  nothing  because  it  has  so  much  to  do,  and  that 
despondency  which  is  ever  occupied  in  contemplating  its  own  de- 
ficiencies, he  was  a  stranger.  While  in  the  path  of  duty,  he  feared 
no  evil.  He  knew  that  truth  and  righteousness  would  ultimately 
prevail,  however  they  might  now  be  disregarded  and  trampled  on  ; 
and  as  for  himself,  if  he  was  misrepresented,  or  reproached,  or 
ridiculed,  looking  forward  to  the  day  when  the  secrets  of  all 
hearts  shall  be  revealed,  he  committed  himself  to  Him  that  judgeth 
righteously. 

"  His  promptness  and  energy  were  no  less  conspicuous.  A 
discriminating  mind,  aided  by  long  established  habits  of  careful  in- 
vestigation, enabled  him  to  examine  questions,  and  form  conclu- 
sions on  which  he  could  confidently  rely,  with  surprising  rapidity. 
He  ever  felt  that  he  was  acting  on  his  own  responsibility.  When 
he  had  decided  on  his  course,  a  strength  of  feeling,  a  determina- 
tion of  purpose,  a  concentration  of  all  his  powers  in  action,  and  a 
directness  of  aim  in  every  movement,  made  opposition  yield,  and 
bore  him  on  to  the  accomplishment  of  his  designs.  Yet  he  was 
mild  and  courteous  to  all,  and  as  far  as  possible  removed  from 
obstinacy. 

'•  Few  men  could  co-operate  so  cordially  and  harmoniously  with 
their  associates.  The  Prudential  Committee  and  his  other  fellow- 
laborers  in  the  missionary  work,  do  not  recollect  to  have  ever  receiv- 
ed from  him  one  angry  or  complaining  word.  He  was  always  frank, 
affectionate,  and  tender  of  their  feelings ;  never  petulant,  jealous, 
or  overbearing.  He  would  indeed  maintain  his  views  with  great 
earnestness,  as  if  he  attached  an  importance  to  them  ;  but  if  he 


422  LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 

was  overruled,  and  some  measure  was  agreed  on  which  he  could 
not  advise  to,  and  predicted  would  fail,  he  did  not  sullenly  hold 
back,  as  if  determined  to  verify  his  prediction  ;  but  contributed  all 
his  endeavors  to  bring  the  best  result  out  of  the  course  adopted. 

*^  Integrity  and  a  love  of  justice  were  obvious  traits  in  the 
character  of  Mr.  Evarts.  He  often  spoke  with  admiration  of  the 
holy  character  of  God.  So  he  did,  also,  of  the  character  of  those 
men,  who,  in  times  of  trial,  have  displayed  eminent  honesty  and 
steadfastness  of  principle.  He  regarded  with  peculiar  abhorrence, 
all  dishonesty,  injustice,  oppression,  tergiversation,  and  intrigue: 
and  no  man  was  more  free  from  them  in  his  conduct  ;  and  no 
man,  probably,  who  has  stood  in  so  delicate  and  responsible  rela- 
tions to  the  community,  has  been  less  suspected,  or  more  implicit- 
ly confided  in.  He  ever  felt  himself  accountable  to  the  com- 
munity for  the  funds  and  influence  intrusted  to  him  ;  and  it  was  a 
principle  adopted  by  himself,  and  inculcated  on  his  associates, 
that  such  a  course  should  be  pursued,  and  all  accounts  and  docu- 
ments kept  in  such  a  state,  that,  if  the  public  should  demand  an 
exhibition  of  them  any  day,  it  might  be  made.  Such  a  demand 
he  knew  the  public  had  a  right  to  make  of  any  one  transacting 
public  business.  He  often  spoke  with  gratitude  of  his  having 
been  so  long  permitted  to  be  a  servant  of  the  Christian  com- 
munity, and  so  long  enjoyed  its  confidence. 

As  Corresponding  Secretary,  he  was  often  placed  in  very  deli- 
cate circumstances,  being  obliged  to  speak  and  act  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  affect  the  feelings  and  interests  of  many  persons  ;  de- 
clining the  offers  of  some,  dismissing  others  from  the  service, 
pointing  out  the  faults  of  others,  and  directing  the  labors  of  others. 
All  this  was  done  very  frankly  and  plainly,  his  language  always 
corresponding  with  his  meaning ;  yet  he  seldom  gave  offence. 
He  intended  to  pursue  a  course  which  was  so  obviously  right  that 
no  reasonable  person  could  find  fault.  It  would  probably  be  dif- 
ficult to  point  out  an  instance  where  he  acted  towards  any  person 
from  prejudice  or  passion.  If  he  erred,  it  was  in  forming  too  fa- 
vorable opinions,  and  being  too  lenient. 

"  In  his  investigations  and  arguments  he  showed  the  same  love 
for  simple  truth.  A  victory  won  by  sophistry  or  unfairness  had 
no  charms  for  him. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  423 

"  Mr.  Evarts  felt  a  solemn  responsibility  for  using  all  his 
faculties  and  time  so  as  to  accomplish  the  most  good.  Con- 
science and  a  sense  of  duty  exercised  a  control  over  him,  as  un- 
yielding and  supreme  as  that  of  gravitation  over  the  natural 
world.  Neither  interest,  nor  ease,  nor  the  pleasures  of  social  in- 
tercourse could  draw  him  from  his  appropriate  labors.  Nor  did 
he  bear  the  toil  and  confinement  of  duty  with  reluctance  or  com- 
plaining. Labor  was  pleasure.  Feeling  bound  as  a  public  ser- 
vant to  labor  to  the  extent  of  his  ability,  and  return  in  valuable 
service  a  full  equivalent  for  all  that  he  received,  he  was  con- 
stantly endeavoring  to  improve  his  faculties  and  habits,  and  ex- 
tend his  acquisitions,  that  he  n)ight  become  more  competent  to  his 
work.  He  was  not  less  assiduous  in  cultivating  his  religious  char- 
acter  by  devotional  reading,  watchfulness,  and  self-denying  ac- 
tion ;  and  his  prayers  for  wisdom  and  grace  were  constant  and 
importunate. 

"  To  a  man  who  is  obliged  to  examine  many  subjects,  and  to 
transact  many  kinds  of  business  requiring  thoroughness  and  accu- 
racy, scarcely  anything  is  more  important  than  that  intellectual 
training,  by  which  control  is  obtained  over  all  the  faculties.  This 
Mr.  Evarts  possessed.  He  could  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  in  all 
states  of  health,  and  however  beset  by  cares  and  troubles,  bring 
his  mind  into  vigorous  action,  and  direct  it  as  he  pleased.  He 
could,  also,  at  any  call,  leave  a  subject  on  which  his  thoughts  and 
feelings  were  intensely  fixed,  and  without  loss  of  time  fix  them  as 
intensely  on  another  ;  and  when  permitted,  he  could  resume  the 
former  where  he  left  it,  and  immediately  proceed,  as  if  no  inter- 
ruption had  been  experienced.  In  this  manner,  the  habit  of  close 
and  accurate  thought  and  vigor  of  mind  were  preserved  amidst 
the  distracting  cares  of  a  miscellaneous  business. 

"  He  possessed  a  similar  control  over  his  feelings.  His  emo- 
tions were  strong,  often  like  a  broad  and  deep  tide,  but  he  rarely 
wrote  or  spoke  in  public  under  the  influence  of  wrong  or  exces- 
sive feeling ;  and  whenever  important  interests  were  at  stake,  he 
was  always  sufficiently  guarded.  He  did  not  waste  his  strength 
in  solicitude  respecting  the  future.  In  a  letter  to  his  family,  writ- 
ten during  his  last  sickness,  he  remarks  :  '  It  is  a  habit  with  me 
not  to  cherish  anxiety  which  I  know  will  be  useless,  which  must, 


424  LIFE   OF   EVARTS. 

therefore,  be  hurtful,  and  which  is  so  plainly  forbidden  in  the 
Scriptures.  How  much  better  is  it,  than  to  be  thus  anxious,  to 
commit  ourselves  and  each  other,  and  all  who  are  dear  to  us,  to 
the  keeping  of  our  heavenly  Father,  without  whom  not  a  spar- 
row fallelh  to  the  ground.'  This  habit,  built  on  his  self-control 
and  humble  reliance  on  God,  he  was  enabled  to  extend  to  every- 
thing in  which  he  was  concerned.  Whatever  might  be  his  busi- 
ness, he  would  take  portions  of  every  day  for  relieving  his  mind 
entirely  from  its  burden,  in  which  he  appeared  to  succeed  per- 
fectly. He  often  remarked  that  no  subject  of  thought  or  care 
ever  prevented  his  falling  into  quiet  sleep,  when  the  season  for  it 
arrived. 

*'  He  was  aided  in  his  labors  by  a  memory  minutely  retentive,  and 
accurate  to  a  remarkable  degree.     The  whole  of  his  past  life,  with 
all  its  events,  with  all  the  acknowledge  he  had   acquired,  seemed 
to  have  left  palpable  traces  on  his  memory,  to  remain  spread  out 
before  him,  and  to  be  made  the  objects   of  distinct  retrospection, 
as  on  a  map.     On    his    third  visit   to   the   south-western   Indians, 
while  making  a  water   passage,  either  for  use  or  amusement,  he 
wrote  out  a  diary  of  each  of  his  two  previous  tours  from  memory, 
noting  where  he  was  and  what  he  did  each  day,  from  the  time  he 
left  Boston  till    his  return,  one   of  seven    and    the   other  of  four 
months,  and  one  performed  tv^'o  and  the  other  six  years  previously  ; 
and,  as  he  said,  without  stopping   a   minute  to  recollect  himself. 
His  habit  of  associating  contemporaneous  events,  and    his   distinct 
remembrance,  rendering  the  past  to  him  almost   the  same   as   the 
present,  extended  to  things  which  persons   generally  least   regard. 
While  writing  '  William  Penn,'  he   wished   to   quote   a   passage 
from  Hooker,  all  the  words  of  which  he  could  not  recall,  and  the 
book  was  not  at  hand.      He  soon  remembered  reading  the  passage 
in  a  newspaper,  of  which  he  kept  a  file  ;  and  by  a  little  effort  he 
recollected  the  precise  date,  though  ten  years  before,  and  immedi- 
ately turned  to  the  file  and  found  it.     Nothing  was  more  common 
with  him  in  his  family,  than  to  remark   that,  so  many  years   ago 
to-day,  such  a  battle  or  such  another   event  in   history  occurred  ; 
and  then  to  proceed  to  remark  on  the  circumstances  of  it,  or  the 
characters  concerned  in  it,  with  as  much  minuteness  and  readiness 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS.  425 

as  if  the  book  were  before  him.  This  rendered  his  conversation 
pecLiharly  interesting  and  instructive. 

"  In  his  'writing,  though  no  man  more  scrupulously  adhered  to 
truth  and  accuracy,  yet  he  seldom  referred  to  books.  The  tablet 
of  his  memory  was  his  record — a  substitute  for  books  and  docu- 
ments. His  missionary  correspondence  was  greatly  facilitated  by 
his  having  the  whole  history  of  the  Board  and  of  each  mission, 
with  the  character  of  each  missionary,  distinctly  before  his  mind. 
This  power,  which  he  said  he  never  took  pains  to  acquire,  was 
undoubtedly  owing,  in  a  great  degree,  to  the  perfect  distinctness 
and  order  with  which  he  viewed  objects  ;  and  contributed  greatly 
to  his  despatch  in  business,  and  his  readiness  to  give  counsel. 

"  It  may  be  remarked,  in  passing,  that  he  seemed  also  to  be 
able  to  forget  what  he  pleased.  When  he  was  told  by  his  physi- 
cian the  winter  before  his  decease,  that  he  could  not  proceed  to 
Washington  as  he  had  designed,  to  labor  for  the  Indians,  and  that 
his  only  hope  of  recovery  lay  in  his  relinquishing  business,  and 
making  a  voyage  to  a  southern  climate,  he  immediately  dismissed 
the  subject,  which  for  the  preceding  two  years  had  been  to  him 
one  of  so  much  thought  and  anxiety  ;  and  it  is  not  recollected 
that  he  even  mentioned  it,  during  the  two  or  three  weeks  that 
intervened  before  his  embarkation. 

"  Another  power  which  Mr.  Evarts  possessed  in  a  high  degree, 
was  that  of  collecting  and  using  evidence  for  forming  correct 
opinions.  It  made  little  difference  how  intangible  or  complicated 
in  its  nature,  or  how  various  in  kind,  the  evidence  might  be;  he 
would  with  great  rapidity  so  weigh  it  as  to  arrive  at  conclusions 
in  which  he  was  seldom  disappointed.  In  connection  with  this,  he 
possessed  a  remarkable  forecast  or  calculation  as  to  the  future. 
As  an  instance  of  this,  may  be  mentioned  an  estimate  which  he 
formed  and  published,  while  the  census  of  the  United  States  was 
taking  in  1820,  of  what  the  population  of  each  State  would  be. 
It  proved  almost  accurate  enough  for  the  marshal's  report. 

"  Mr.  Evarts's  habits  of  business  were  well  adapted  to  public 
life.  A  punctuality  never  occasioning  disappointment  or  delay, 
and  an  unfailing  accuracy  characterized,  all  his  transactions  and 
writings.  His  books  exhibit  most  clearly  how  all  the  sums  of 
money,  public  or  private,  that  ever  passed  through  his  hands,  were 
54 


426  LIFE   OF  EVART3. 

obtained  and  disposed  of.  He  aimed  to  transact  all  business  with 
despatch,  and  in  the  best  manner  ;  and  to  render  every  document, 
in  its  form,  style,  spirit,  and  even  penmanship,  as  perfect  as  pos- 
sible. He  perceived  almost  instinctively  how  his  work  could  be 
prosecuted  most  advantageously,  and  he  never  lost  time  in  matters 
that  would  not  promote  his  end,  or  in  ascertaining  what  to  do 
next. 

"  In  all  his  plans  and  labors,  Mr.  Evarts  habitually  acknowledged 
his  dependence  on  God,  carefully  noticed  his  providence,  and 
sought  direction  and  aid  by  prayer.  He  spent  one  evening  each 
week  with  his  associates  in  the  missionary  work,  in  conversation 
and  prayer  relative  to  their  duties  and  the  concerns  intrusted  to 
them.  The  feeling  of  responsibility  and  dependence  expressed 
on  these  occasions,  the  acknowledgments  of  unfaithfulness  and  ill- 
desert,  the  thankfulness  for  past  success,  and  the  earnest  suppli- 
cations for  wisdom  and  grace,  expressed  on  these  occasions,  will 
long  be  remembered.  When  at  Washington,  on  the  morning  that 
the  vote  was  to  be  taken  on  the  Indian  bill,  he  remarked  to  a 
Christian  friend  with  whom  he  was  entering  the  capitol,  that  God 
only  could  direct  to  a  right  decision  of  that  momentous  question, 
and  requested  the  friend  to  retire  with  him  to  a  vacant  room  for 
prayer.  After  the  vote  was  taken,  he  remarked  to  the  same  friend 
that  nothing  but  a  special  divine  interposition  could  save  the 
Indians  from  ruin  ;  and  again,  at  his  suggestion,  they  retired  to 
the  same  room  for  prayer.  However  great  his  anxiety  on  any 
subject,  spreading  it  before  God  in  prayer  seemed  to  give  him  relief. 

"  There  was  in  Mr.  Evarts  an  assemblage  of  qualities  and  an 
attention  to  every  duty,  constituting  a  completeness  of  character 
seldom  found.  He  could  originate  or  comprehend  the  largest 
plans,  and  yet  attend  to  the  minutest  details  ;  he  was  equally  fa- 
miliar with  principles  and  facts ;  he  could  devise  or  execute, 
feel  or  reason  ;  he  could  transact  the  retired  business  of  an  office, 
or  manage  his  cause  in  writing  or  debate  before  the  public  ;  he 
could  meet  worldly  men  or  religious  men  ;  could  perform  every 
duty  to  the  public  and  every  duty  to  his  family  ;  could  be  firm 
and  energetic  in  his  purposes,  and  yet  co-operate  harmoniously 
with  his  associates ;  he  could  be  intensely  and  almost  constantly 
occupied  with  business,  and  yet  be   habitually  spiritually-minded. 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 


427 


Probably  few  men  have  sustained  through  life  a  more  amiable  or 
irreproachable  character,  or  possessed  the  really  useful  talents  in 
a  greater  variety  or  measure,  or  have  used  them  with  more  benev- 
olence, wisdom,  and  industry,  for  promoting  the  highest  well-being 
of  his  fellow-men.  Few  have  been  so  ready  and  adequate  to 
every  service  to  which  they  were  called. 

"  In  his  family,  Mr.  Evarts  was  uncommonly  affectionate  and 
accessible,  and  manifested  the  deepest  interest  in  their  welfare. 
He  conversed  familiarly  with  all  the  members  of  it  on  interesting 
topics,  and  in  the  most  animated  and  instructive  manner,  with 
great  beauty  and  strength  of  language,  and  often  with  much 
pleasantry,  but  never  with  levity.  For  giving  life  to  conversa- 
tion, and  as  an  interesting  companion  at  home  or  abroad,  no  one, 
in  the  estimation  of  the  family,  could  fill  his  place.  He  treated 
them  with  marked  courtesy  and  respect,  and  was  in  return  greatly 
beloved  and  respected  by  them. 

"  To  his  particular  friends,  especially  those  of  his  early  life,  he 
was  most  devotedly  attached  ;  and  his  affectionate  partiality  for 
them  was,  perhaps,  in  some  instances,  excessive.  He  was  fond 
of  society,  and  took  great  pleasure  in  conversation,  and  would 
render  himself  interesting  to  all  classes  of  persons.  In  every 
circle  with  which  he  mingled,  he  contributed  his  full  share  to 
the  instruction  and  entertainment,  without  exhibiting  in  the  least 
degree  the  mental  absence  of  the  business  man,  or  the  stiffness  of 
the  scholar." 

In  person,  Mr.  Evarts  was  of  the  medium  height,  of  a  slight 
frame  and  spare  habit,  with  a  countenance,  though  not  at  first, 
more  than  his  person,  particularly  striking,  yet  indicating  great 
intelligence  and  activity,  and  all  those  moral  traits  that  invite  con- 
fidence and  command  respect.  His  manners  were  those  of  a  man 
conscious  alike  of  what  was  due  to  himself  and  to  others, — self- 
possessed,  respectful,  kind ;  his  conversation  not  brilliant,  but 
easy,  animated,  and  to  a  very  remarkable  degree  instructive ;  his 
attachments,  as  has  been  remarked,  strong  and  permanent,  and 
his  disposition  social.  His  hospitality  was  cordial,  and  felt  by 
visiters  to  be  a  perfect  welcome  to  what  his  modest  and  frugal 
fireside  might  afford  ;  and  particularly  was  he  fond  of  seeing  much 


4m 


LIFE   OF  EVARTS. 


at  his  own  house,  persons  engaged  in  the  public  service  of  Christ, 
or  in  any  way  connected  with  the  missions.  Whether  Greek  or 
Jew,  Indian,  Hawaiian,  or  Negro,  the  stranger  was  sought  by  him 
as  a  guest,  and  so  treated  as  to  feel  himself  a  stranger  no  more. 

In  his  views  of  religious  truth,  he  probably  agreed  more  nearly 
with  his  early  instructor,  the  late  President  Dwight,  than  any  other 
writer.  He  was  fond  of  the  works  of  Calvin,  Edwards,  and  others 
of  the  like  spirit.  His  attachment  to  the  doctrines  and  polity  of 
the  orthodox  Congregationalists  was  intelligent  and  strong,  but 
without  bigotry.  It  may  be  doubted  whether  his  veneration  for 
the  character  of  Wilberforce  and  his  Christian  regard  for  the 
excellent  fellow-laborers  of  that  great  and  good  man,  were  at  all 
diminished  by  the  fact  that  they  were  members  of  the  Church  of 
England  ;  rather,  their  relations  to  that  church  clothed  their  char- 
acters, in  his  view,  with  peculiar  interest,  and  gave  them  special 
claims  to  sympathy  and  respect. 

Among  books  of  devotion,  Baxter's  Saints'  Rest  was  his  favor- 
ite ;  but  his  habit,  in  this  respect,  was  to  read  little  and  meditate 
much.  Especially  in  the  later  years  of  his  life,  religious  medi- 
tation, more  than  reading,  was  the  chosen  employment  of  his 
devotional  hours.  Evidence  of  his  habitual  prayerfulness  fre- 
quently appears  on  the  preceding  pages.  He  enjoyed  communion 
with  God  in  private,  social,  and  public  prayer  ;  and  it  was  his  con- 
stant resort  in  all  employments,  and  in  all  difficulties  and  trials  ;  and 
he  studiously  made  it  a  means  of  self-control  and  discipline.  The 
following  characteristic  memorandum  is  without  date,  but  the  topics 
indicate  the  occasion  with  sufficient  definiteness.  The  want  of 
specifications  under  the  last  head  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  fact 
that  it  had  been  a  standing  topic  of  daily  prayer,  at  home  and 
abroad  alike,  for  so  many  years. 

PLAN    OF    PRAYER. 
I.     For  Myself. 

1.  That  1  may  journey  purely  in  a  religious  manner. 

2.  That  I  may  aim  at  preserving  a  devout  temper. 

3.  That  I  may  be  preserved  from  rash  and  imprudent  speeches 
in  regard  to  the  government,  the  opposers  of  missions,  or  any 
Other  subject. 


LIFE   OF  EVART3.  429 

4.  That  I  may  cultivate  a  temper  universally  mild  and  amia- 
ble towards  all  men  ;  and  whenever  I  hear  of  sinful  actions,  before 
I  say  a  word  by  way  of  censure,  remember  how  much  I  find  to 
blame  in  myself,  though  under  so  great  advantages. 

5.  That  the  journey  may  conduce  especially  to  these  three 
objects, — my  health,  the  deliverance  of  the  Indians,  and  the  pro- 
motion of  the  missionary  cause. 

II.  For  My  Family. 

1.  For  each  member,  according  to  circumstances. 

2.  That,  if  we  should  never  meet  in  this  world,  my  failures  in 
duty  may  not  prevent  their  meeting,  all  the  friends  of  God,  in 
heaven. 

3.  That  they  may  each  and  all  seek  the  favor  of  God. 

III.  For  the  Indians. 

1.  That  God  would  especially  protect  the  pious  ones,  and 
preserve  them. 

2.  That  inquirers  may  not  be  diverted. 

3.  That  those  who  are  tempted  to  drinking  and  other  sins,  may 
be  withheld  and  restrained. 

4.  That  in  none  of  the  tribes  the  poor  may  be  betrayed  by 
their  chiefs  or  abandoned  whites. 

5.  That  the  friends  of  the  Indians,  in  Congress  and  out,  may 
be  cautious,  prudent,  he,  but  especially  not  lacking  in  zeal. 

6.  That  our  government  may  be  withheld,  &;c. 

7.  That  the  minds  of  the  rulers  of  Georgia  may  be  so  directed 
as  not  to  proceed  to  extremities. 

8.  That  some  peace-maker  may  arise,  who  shall  obtain  a  hear- 
ing for  both  sides. 

9.  That  the  rights  of  the  Indians  may  be  vindicated,  and  the 
honor  of  the  country  preserved. 

IV.     Prayer  for  our  Board,  and  for  Missions  generally. 


APPENDIX. 


LABORS    OF    MR.    EVARTS    IN    RELATION    TO    THE    INDIAN 

QUESTION. 

The  following  sketch  of  the  writings  of  Mr.  Evarts  upon  the 
Indian  Question  is  based  upon  memoranda  of  his  own  ;  and  the 
particular  facts  stated  relating  to  some  items  in  the  list,  are  all 
given  on  that  authority.  The  list,  of  course,  embraces  only  papers 
designed  for  publication,  or  of  an  official  character  ;  and  nothing  of 
his  voluminous  correspondence  and  journal  at  Washington. 

1.  Essays  of  "  William  Penn,"  first  published  in  the  National 
IntelHgencer  in  twenty-four  numbers,  appearing  from  August  to 
December,  1829.  As  they  appeared,  they  were  copied  into  more 
than  a  hundred  newspapers,  as  is  beUeved,  and  many  of  them  pa- 
pers which  had  a  very  extensive  circulation. 

2.  A  Pamphlet  Edition  of  these  Essays,  carefully  revised  and 
corrected,  with  an  appendix. 

3.  An  examination  of  some  things  in  regard  to  the  Indian 
Question  as  affecting  the  Choctaw  nation,  published  in  the  Mis- 
sionary Herald  for  December,  1829. 

4.  A  Brief  Statement  of  the  present  relations  between  the 
Government  and  People  of  the  United  States  and  the  Indians, 
signed  by  George  Newbold,  Hugh  Maxwell,  Charles  King,  and 
others,  and  published  in  New  York,  Nov.  1829. 

5.  Two  long  articles  in  the  New  York  Observer,  in  answer  to 
the  Charleston  Observer.  In  these  articles  the  decisions  of  the 
Supreme  Court  are  examined. 

6.  The  Memorial  to  Congress  from  Inhabitants  of  the  city  of 
New  York  in  regard  to  the  Indians  : — adopted  at  a  pubUc  meeting, 
John  Trumbull,  chairman.     Dec.  1829. 

7.  Some  passages  in  the  pamphlet  edition  of  a  Review  of  the 
Indian  Question,  which  appeared  originally  in  the  American  Mag- 
azine, January,  1830. 

8.  The  Boston  Resolutions  and  Memorial.  The  most  spirited 
parts  of  the  Memorial,  as  originally  written,  were  omitted  by  the 
committee  to  accommodate  it  to  the  supposed  state  of  the  public 
mind.     February,  1830. 


432  APPENDIX. 

9.  Procured  the  publication  in  a  separate  pamphlet,  of  a  Review 
that  appeared  in  the  Spirit  of  the  Pilgrims.     February,  1830. 

10.  A  Protest,  written  at  the  request  of  leading  members  of 
Congress,  intended  to  be  signed  by  members  of  both  Houses  who 
voted  against  the  Indian  Bill.  The  subject  had  been  considered 
privately  before  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Evarts  at  Washington,  and  the 
labor  of  preparing  the  document  had  been  assigned  to  Mr.  Taylor, 
of  New  York.  He  wished  Mr.  E.  to  relieve  him  from  it,  as  he  was 
much  occupied  by  his  duties  in  the  House.  About  the  time  of  the 
passage  of  the  iiill,  however,  it  was  concluded  not  to  sign  such  a 
paper  ;  as  it  would  be  too  much  to  expect  of  the  administration 
members  voting  against  the  Bill,  to  unite  in  such  a  measure  ;  and 
should  it  appear  signed  only  by  members  of  the  opposition,  it  would 
be  denominated  a  party  measure,  and  do  more  harm  than  good, — 
as  it  was  exceedingly  important  to  keep  the  question  as  free  as 
possible  from  the  influences  of  party.  The  plan,  therefore,  though 
it  had  been  warmly  cherished  by  many  for  several  weeks,  was 
finally  abandoned  by  general  consent,  and  the  paper  was  never 
used.     May,  1830. 

11.  It  was  next  suggested  from  the  same  quarter,  that  Mr. 
Evarts  should  write  an  Address  to  be  signed  by  the  Cherokee  Del- 
egation, and  published  on  the  eve  of  their  departure  from  Washing- 
ton. This  was  agreed  upon  ;  but  when  mentioned  to  Mr.  Wirt,  he 
suggested  that  it  would  come  with  more  weight,  if  the  Cherokee 
Council,  from  the  heart  of  their  own  nation,  were  to  issue  the  Address. 
The  document  was  prepared  accordingly,  and  is  the  Address  of  the 
Cherokee  Council  to  the  People  of  the  United  States,  published 
in  the  Cherokee  Phoenix,  July  24,  1830.  The  two  concluding  par- 
agraphs were  added  in  the  Cherokee  nation.     May,  1630. 

12.  Speeches  on  the  Indian  Bill,  a  volume  published  in  Sep- 
tember, 1830.  Mr.  Evarts  prepared  the  Prospectus — urged  their 
publication — wrote  to  members  of  Congress  respecting  them — 
corrected  them  all  for  the  press — and  wrote  the  Preface,  containing 
an  abstract  of  the  arguments  in  favor  of  the  Bill.  "  I  believe," 
says  Mr.  Evarts,  "  there  has  never  been  so  correct  a  volume  of 
speeches  published  in  this  country,  nor  one  creditable  to  so  many 
speakers.     July  and  August,  1830. 

13.  An  account  of  the  effect  of  the  Choctaw  Treaty,  published 
in  the  Missionary  Herald  for  August,  1830.     July,  1830. 

14.  An  Article  on  the  Removal  of  the  Indians,  published  in  the 
North  American  Review  for  October,  1830.  Written  in  August, 
by  particular  request  of  the  Editor,  Alexander  H.  Everett,  Esq. 

15.  A  History  of  the  Indian  Bill,  seven  numbers,  published  in 
the  New  York  Observer.     Summer  and  Autumn  of  1830. 

16.  Two  numbers  on  "the  Present  State  of  the  Indian  Ques- 
tion," signed  "  William  Penn,"  and  published  in  the  National  In- 
telligencer in  the  Autumn  of  1830. 

17.  Two  Memorials  to  Congress,  written  officially,  on  behalf  of 
the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  one 
in  January,  1830,  and  the  other  in  January,  1831. 

Numbers  10  and  11  in  the  foregoing  list  will  be  found  on  the 
following  pages. 


APPENDIX.  433 


DRAFT  OF  A  PROTEST   AGAINST   THE   PRINCIPLES  AND  POLICY 
OF  THE  INDIAN  BILL  OF  MAY,  1S30. 

The  Act  entitled,  an  Act  to  provide  for  an  exchange  of  lands 
with  the  Indians  residing  in  any  of  the  States  or  Territories,  and 
for  their  removal  west  of  the  Mississippi,  which  has  recently  pass- 
ed both  Houses  of  Congress,  and  been  sent  to  the  President  of 
the  United  States  for  his  approbation,  being  of  a  novel  and  pecu- 
liar character,  and  involving  principles  of  the  deepest  interest  to 
the  reputation  of  this  Republic,  seems  to  the  undersigned  to  re- 
quire of  them  something  more  than  the  record  of  their  names  in 
the  negative,  on  the  passage  of  the  bill  through  the  two  branches 
of  the  National  Legislature.  Unless  the  undersigned  are  entirely 
mistaken  as  to  the  nature,  design,  and  tendency  of  this  Act,  and 
the  interpretation  which  it  will  receive  from  the  Executive,  it  is  a 
measure  fraught  with  extreme  danger  and  responsibility,  and  des- 
tined to  bring  upon  our  country  the  guilt  and  shame  of  oppressing 
the  weak,  robbing  the  poor,  and  violating  the  most  solemn  engage- 
ments which  it  IS  in  the  power  of  this  government  to  make ; — en- 
gagements unequivocal  in  their  meaning,  many  times  repeated, 
and  always,  till  recently,  understood  in  the  same  sense,  and  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  obvious  import  of  the  language,  by  both  the  par- 
ties, and  by  all  the  communities  now  feeling  a  peculiar  interest  in 
the  subject.  If  this  is  a  fair  statement  of  the  case,  the  condition 
to  which  our  country  has  arrived  is  indeed  an  awful  one;  and  it 
well  becomes  every  patriot,  and  every  friend  of  free  institutions,  to 
survey  the  gulf  into  which  we  have  fallen  from  a  most  command- 
ing elevation. 

That  the  undersigned  may  prepare  the  way  for  disclaiming  all 
agency  in  producing  the  present  state  of  things,  and  all  participa- 
tion in  the  responsibility  attached  to  it,  a  more  detailed  exposition, 
though  still  a  brief  one,  will  be  advisable. 

The  Act  in  question  places  in  the  hands  of  the  Executive  half 
a  million  of  dollars  to  commence  the  work  of  removing  the  Indians, 
according  to  a  plan  very  imperfectly  sketched  in  the  act  itself,  but 
no  where  else  described  by  the  laws  of  the  land,  and  never  before 
sanctioned  by  the  co-ordinate  branches  of  the  government.  The 
Act  is  not  a  substantive  measure,  resting  upon  its  own  merits,  and 
springing  from  a  simple  regard  to  the  benefit  of  the  Indians  ;  but 
it  is  a  co-operating  measure,  obviously  intended  to  aid  the  States  of 
Georgia,  Alabama,  and  Mississippi,  in  expelling  the  Indians 
from  their  patrimonial  inheritance ;  and  in  doing  this,  as  the 
undersigned  conceive,  in  violation  of  the  public  faith,  and  under 
circumstances  of  aggravated  injustice. 

The  words  of  the  Act  contemplate  the  voluntary  removal  of  the 
Indians  ;  but  if  their  consent  to  a  removal  be  obtained  by  bribery, 
threats,  or  the  oppressive  legislation  of  the  States,  it  will  not  be  vol- 
untary, in  any  proper  and  honorable  sense.  From  public  docu- 
ments laid  before  Congress  during  the  present  session,  it  appears 
55 


434  APPENDIX. 

that  measures  have  been  recommended  by  the  Secretary  of  War, 
which,  however  disguised  in  language,  cannot  be  considered  as 
any  thing  less  than  bribery.  The  Indians  have  been  repeatedly 
told,  during  the  past  year,  by  the  President,  the  Secretary  of  War, 
and  other  public  functionaries,  that  they  cannot  be  protected  by 
the  general  government  against  the  laws  of  the  several  States  ; 
and  the  Indians  have  been  informed  from  these  high  sources,  that 
they  cannot  live  under  state  laws,  and  that  the  operation  of  these 
laws  would  ensure  their  destruction.  It  appears  to  the  undersign- 
ed, that  the  Act  recently  passed  will  be  justly  regarded  as  sanc- 
tioning the  declarations  of  the  President  and  the  Secretary  of 
War,  on  these  subjects;  and  that  it  will  furnish  the  means  of  bri- 
bery, and  the  occasion  of  threats,  and  an  invitation  to  systematic 
and  legalized  oppression  on  the  part  of  the  States,  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  make  the  legislative  and  executive  departments  of  our 
government  justly  responsible  to  mankind  for  these  odious  and 
disgraceful  measures. 

The  undersigned  are  aware  that  the  legislation  of  Georgia,  Al- 
abama, and  Mississippi  is  said  not  to  be  oppressive  ;  but  it  is  not 
denied  that  the  Indians  regard  it  as  oppressive,  and  this  is  suffi- 
cient to  ensure  its  condemnation  as  an  expedient  to  drive  away 
the  Indians.  Besides,  no  dispassionate  statesman  in  the  world, 
if  acquainted  with  the  actual  condition  of  the  Indians,  can  deny 
that  these  laws  are  oppressive  in  a  very  high  degree  ;  and  it  has 
been  acknowledged,  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate,  by  one  of  the  Sen- 
ators from  Georgia,  that  it  is  the  wish  and  aim  of  that  State  to  ef- 
fect a  removal  of  the  Indians. 

Again,  if  the  existing  laws  were  not  oppressive,  other  laws, 
which  will  be  oppressive,  can  easily  be  made  ;  for  it  is  to  be  re- 
membered, that  a  joint  resolution  was  adopted  by  the  legislature 
of  Georgia,  in  December,  1827,  which  was  approved  by  the  Gov- 
ernor, and  transmitted  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  in 
which  it  is  declared  that  the  Cherokee  Indians  are  only  tenants 
at  will ;  that  Georgia  has  a  right  to  dispossess  them  at  any  mo- 
ment ;  that  if  other  measures  will  not  answer,  she  may  properly 
resort  to  force  ;  and  that  she  wants  their  lands,  and  will  have 
them. 

In  order  to  come  to  a  full  understanding  of  the  case,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  look,  for  a  few  moments,  at  the  claims  or  the  Indians,  and 
the  relations  subsisting  between  them  and  the  United  States. 

The  four  southwestern  tribes  of  Indians  within  our  national  limits, 
now  reside  upon  lands  which  came  to  them  through  the  immemorial 
occupancy  of  their  ancestors.  These  lands  have  never  been  in 
the  possession  of  the  whites  ;  nor  has  the  title  of  the  original  pos- 
sessors ever  been  abandoned,  or  in  any  way  transferred.  The 
mere  statement  of  these  facts  is  sufficient  to  show  that  the  law  of 
nations  and  the  fundamental  principles  of  morality  forbid  that 
these  original  possessors  of  the  soil  should  be  deprived  of  their 
possessions  without  their  own  consent.  But  this  is  not  all  the  case. 
From  the  first  settlement  of  the  continent  by  Anglo-Americans, 
boundaries  were  established  between  the  territory  sold,  or  surren- 
dered to  the  whites,  and  the  territory  still  retained  by  the  natives. 


APPENDIX.  435 

In  the  establishment  of  these  boundaries,  the  natives  always  had 
a  voice  ;  and  the  mere  fixing  a  boundary  is  an  admission  of  title 
in  the  original  possessors. 

In  the  year  1785,  the  confederated  States  made  a  treaty  with  the 
Cherokees,  one  of  the  tribes  abovementioned,  by  which  their  na- 
tional character  was  admitted,  peace  was  established,  and  various 
reciprocal  engagements  were  entered  into ;  the  Cherokees  ex- 
pressly putting  themselves  under  the  protection  of  the  United. 
States,  and  implicitly  reserving  to  themselves  all  their  rights  not 
expressly  surrendered.  A  definite  national  boundary  was  fixed, 
leaving  the  Indians  under  their  own  government. 

When  the  Federal  Constitution  was  adopted,  this  treaty  became 
the  supreme  law  of  the  land. 

In  1791,  a  treaty  was  made  between  the  United  States  and  the 
Cherokees,  in  which  the  same  great  principles  are  involved  as  in 
the  treaty  of  1785,  and  by  which  an  express  and  solemn  guaranty 
was  given  to  the  Clrerokee  nation  of  all  its  lands  not  ceded  to  the 
United  States.  Thirteen  treaties  were  subsequently  made  be- 
tween the  same  parties,  at  different  periods  down  to  the  year  1819, 
in  all  which  the  national  existence,  and  the  right  of  remaining 
permanently  under  their  own  government  upon  the  land  of  their 
fathers,  are  implicitly,  and  in  many  forms,  admitted.  The  guaranty 
is  always  implied,  and  was  expressly  repeated,  in  the  year  1798, 
and  declared  to  be  for  ever. 

By  these  various  treaties,  the  Cherokees  placed  themselves  un- 
der the  protection  of  the  United  States,  submitted  the  regulation 
of  their  trade  to  the  United  States,  granted  the  free  naviga- 
tion of  their  rivers  and  the  opening  of  certain  specified  roads  through 
their  territory,  ceded  large  tracts  of  valuable  land,  and  engaged 
not  to  form  compacts  with  foreign  powers,  with  any  separate  State 
of  this  Union,  or  with  individuals.  They  received  from  the  United 
States,  in  consideration  of  these  grants  and  cessions,  a  perpetual 
guaranty  of  their  lands  not  ceded,  covenants  of  perpetual  peace 
and  good  neighborhood,  various  pecuniary  annuities,  and  stipula- 
tions that  the  United  States  would  aid  them  in  the  work  of  civili- 
zation, which  they  had  commenced. 

Thus  the  matter  stands  on  the  basis  of  treaties.  The  laws  of 
the  United  States  were  conformed  to  these  stipulations  in  all  re- 
spects. White  intruders  into  the  Cherokee  territory  were  subject- 
ed to  heavy  penalties  ;  and  this  territory  was  described,  in  the  in- 
tercourse laws,  as  not  being  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United 
States,  or  within  the  jurisdiction  of  any  territorial  district  of  the 
United  States,  and  of  course  not  within  the  jurisdiction  of  any 
state.  Intruders  have  repeatedly  been  expelled  from  the  Chero- 
kee territory,  in  pursuance  of  treaties  and  the  intercourse  law,  by 
the  armed  force  of  the  United  States.  It  may  safely  be  asserted 
that  the  people  of  Georgia  have  always  supposed,  until  within  less 
than  four  years  past,  that  the  only  way  of  acquiring  Cherokee 
lands  was  by  means  of  solemn  treaties  between  the  United  Stales 
and  the  Cherokee  nation. 

It  should  here  be  observed,  that  the  treaties  with  the  Indians 
have  uniformly  been  ratified  with  the  same  solemnity,  as  treaties 


436  APPENDIX. 

between  the  United  States  and  the  powers  of  Europe ;  and,  at  the 
commencement  of  President  Washington's  administration,  the 
great  principles  which  were  to  be  pursued  in  negotiating  with  the 
Indians,  received  the  dehberate  sanction  of  the  Senate,  before  they 
were  embodied  in  the  treaties.  Among  these  principles  were  an 
inviolable  guaranty,  and  the  free  consent  of  the  Indians  to  terms 
fairly  proposed  and  fully  understood. 

In  this  manner  are  the  United  States  bound  to  the  Indians;  and, 
by  the  constitution  of  our  national  government,  whenever  the 
United  States  are  bound  as  a  whole,  each  State  belonging  to  the 
Union  is  bound  as  a  part.  It  is  not  denied  by  the  majority  who 
passed  this  Act,,  that,  according  to  the  plain  meaning  of  the  treaties 
above  described  and  the  intercourse  law,  the  Cherokees  are  to  be 
protected  by  the  whole  power  of  the  United  States  against  the 
laws  of  Georgia;  and  all  this  is  plain,  even  if  Georgia  had  never 
consented  to  these  treaties  and  this  law,  but  had  uniformly  pro- 
tested against  them. 

The  undersigned  are  of  opinion,  however,  that  Georgia  has,  in 
numerous  instances,  approved  of  the  whole  system  of  treating 
with  the  Indians,  and  has  bound  herself  to  that  system  as  strongly 
as  it  is  possible  for  a  community  to  bind  itself  by  its  most  solemn 
acts. 

From  the  first  settlement  of  Georgia  till  the  peace  of  1783,  nu- 
merous treaties  were  made  between  the  colonists  and  the  natives, 
in  all  which  boundaries  were  agreed  upon  ;  and  no  treaty  has  been 
produced  which  asserts,  or  even  intimates,  the  right  of  the  whites 
to  dispossess  the  Indians  beyond  the  boundary.  The  very  reverse 
is  always  implied,  and  often  asserted.  After  the  peace  of  1783, 
and  before  the  adoption  of  the  federal  constitution,  Georgia,  as  a 
sovereign  and  independent  State,  made  treaties  with  the  Indians,  in 
all  of  which  the  same  great  principles  were  involved.  By  the  adop- 
tion of  the  federal  constitution,  the  treaty  of  Hopewell  became 
the  supreme  law  of  the  land ;  and  all  subsequent  treaties  made  by 
the  general  government  with  Indians,  have  become  the  supreme 
law  of  the  land  from  the  dates  of  their  ratification,  respectively. 
"When  Georgia  came  into  the  Union,  she  of  course  admitted  the 
treaty  of  Hopewell  to  be  the  supreme  law  of  the  land  ;  and  she 
engaged,  also,  to  regard  all  future  treaties  as  invested  with  the 
same  high  character. 

In  the  compact  of  1802,  between  the  United  Slates  and  Geor- 
gia, it  is  clearly  implied  that,  whenever  the  Indian  title  should  be 
extinguished,  it  would  be  extinguished  by  means  of  a  fair  and  hon- 
orable treaty  ;  and,  in  that  compact,  mention  is  made  of  treaties, 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  show  it  to  be  the  understanding  of  the  par- 
ties, that  the  general  government  alone  could  acquire  from  the 
Indians  the  title  to  their  lands.  The  very  compact  of  1802,  on 
which  Georgia  so  much  insists,  and  which,  by  a  solemn  legislative 
act,  she  declared  to  be  binding  upon  all  her  citizens  forever;  that 
compact  debars  her  from  claiming  the  extinguishment  of  Indian  title 
in  any  other  way  than  as  a  consequence  of  treaties  to  be  nego- 
tiated with  the  Indian  nations  by  the  United  States.  From  1802 
to  1826,  Georgia  frequently  and  importunately  urged  the  general 


APPENDIX.  ^37 

government  to  pnrcliase,  by  means  of  treaties,  for  her  use  and 
benefit,  lands  belonging  to  the  Creek  and  Cherokee  nations  ;  and 
the  undersigned  have  never  heard  an  intimation  that  the  people 
of  Georgia,  within  that  period,  ever  suggested  the  possibility  of 
acquiring  these  lands  in  any  other  way.  Considerable  tracts  be- 
longing to  the  Cherokees,  and  all  the  lands  belonging  to  the 
Creeks  and  lying  within  the  chartered  limits  of  Georgia,  were  thus 
acquired  ;  amounting,  in  the  whole,  to  15,000,000  of  acres.  When 
these  lands  were  obtained  by  Georgia,  they  were  from  time  to 
time  described  in  her  laws,  as  having  been  acquired  by  the  United 
States  for  her  use  by  means  of  treaties  with  these  Indian  nations. 
So  late  as  the  year  1825,  the  governor  of  Georgia,  in  a  proclama- 
tion issued  by  him,  declared  one  of  these  treaties  with  the  Creek 
nation  to  be  the  supreme  law  of  the  land. 

From  the  date  of  the  organization  of  the  general  government  to 
the  present  time,  fourteen  treaties  have  been  made  with  the  Cher- 
okee  nation,    ( )    with  the    Creek  nation,  and  more  than   a 

hundred  with  other  Indian  nations  ;  and  it  has  not  been  stated,  so 
far  as  the  undersigned  have  heard,  that  a  single  Senator  of  Geor- 
gia has  refused  his  advice  and  consent  to  any  one  of  them,  as  they 
severally  were  ratified  by  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 

The  undersigned  are  aware  that  it  is  noiv  said,  that  compacts 
with  Indian  nations  are  not  treaties  ;  but  no  authority  for  such  a 
declaration  has  been  shown.  These  compacts  have  all  the  attri- 
butes of  treaties,  as  the  word  treaty  has  been  understood  ever 
since  it  was  introduced  into  the  English  language.  That  word 
was  in  frequent  use,  as  applicable  to  compacts  with  Indians,  from 
the  first  settlement  of  this  country.  It  was  thus  used,  in  number- 
less instances,  by  the  revolutionary  Congress,  and  by  the  very 
men  who  formed  the  federal  constitution.  It  was  thus  used  by 
the  same  men,  as  contemporary  expoiuiders  and  administrators  of 
the  constitution  which  they  had  formed.  What  possihle  reason  is 
there,  then,  for  asserting  that  compacts  with  Indians  are  not 
treaties  ? 

Besides,  that  body  which  has  the  exclusive  power  of  makiu"" 
treaties,  must,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  have  the  exclusive 
power  of  deciding  what  a  treaty  is  ;  and  having  decided  that  cer- 
tain compacts  are  treaties,  and  ratified  and  authenticated  them  as 
such,  there  is  no  power  known  to  the  constitution,  which  can  de- 
clare that  they  are  not  treaties.  They  are  the  supreme  law  of  the 
land,  and  both  rulers  and  people  are  bound  by  them,  until  they  are 
altered  or  annulled  by  the  parties. 

The  treaties  with  the  Cherokees  were  negotiated  under  the 
direction  of  the  first  five  Presidents  of  the  United  States,  and 
some  of  them  by  the  direct  agency  of  the  distinguished  individu- 
als who  now  hold  the  two  highest  offices  under  the  federal  consti- 
tution. They  were  ratified  by  every  Senate  for  a  period  of  thirty 
years ;  and  similar  treaties  have  been  ratified  down  to  the  present 
session  inclusive.  Appropriations  to  carry  them  into  eftect  have 
been  made  by  every  House  of  Representatives.  These  treaties 
are  plain  in  their  language,  and  incapable  of  being  perverted  by 
ingenuity,  or  obscured  by  sophistry.     They  abound  in  professions 


438  APPENDIX. 

of  kindness,  good  faith,  and  justice.  By  these  treaties  the  United 
States,  at  a  very  critical  period  of  their  history,  were  saved  from 
the  expense  and  embarrassment  of  a  protracted  Indian  war.  The 
new  settlements  were  delivered  from  Indian  invasion,  and  the 
indescribable  terrors  and  alarms  which  the  dread  of  such  invasion 
never  fails  to  excite.  By  these  treaties  the  United  States  acquired 
of  the  Cherokees  large  and  valuable  tracts  of  land,  which  now 
contain  a  white  population  of  hundreds  of  thousands ;  while  the 
Cherokees  have  retained  for  their  own  use  but  a  moderate  portion 
of  their  x)riginal  territory,  and  that  by  far  the  least  valuable.  In 
the  discussion  which  preceded  the  passage  of  this  act,  a  Senator 
from  Georgia  declared  in  his  place,  that  the  acquisition  of  the 
Cherokee  lands  now  demanded  by  that  State  is  a  very  inconsider- 
able thing ;  and,  compared  with  previous  cessions  of  land  by  the 
Cherokee  nation, — much  more  compared  with  the  value  of  an 
unspotted  national  character, — the  remaining  lands  of  the  Chero- 
kees are  certainly  an  object  of  small  consideration. 

Again,  these  treaties  are  incorporated  into  the  laws  which  relate 
to  our  national  intercourse  with  Indians,  in  such  a  manner  that 
they  cannot  be  detached  without  destroying  the  whole  system. 
The  first  intercourse  law  and  the  first  treaty,  under  the  federal 
constitution,  were  made  contemporaneously  ;  and  the  legislative 
power  has  invariably  acted  as  the  handmaid  of  the  treaty- making 
power. 

The  States  of  Mississippi  and  Alabama  are  bound,  not  only  as 
parts  of  the  Union,  equally  with  all  the  other  States  and  with  the 
nation  at  large,  to  observe  all  treaties  as  the  supreme  law  of  the 
land;  but  these  States  were  admitted  into  the  Union,  with  the  ex- 
press covenant  and  solemn  engagem.ent,  that  they  would  conform 
to  the  ordinance  of  1787,  which  forever  prohibits  them  from  invad- 
ing or  disturbing  the  Indians  in  their  property,  rights,  and  liberty, 
unless  in  just  and  lawful  wars  authorized  by  Congress,  and  from 
taking  the  lands  and  property  of  the  Indians  without  their  consent. 

The  undersigned  conceive,  therefore,  that  the  rulers  and  people 
of  the  United  States  are  bound  to  the  Indian  nations,  so  long  as 
these  nations  shall  fulfil  their  part  of  the  existing  covenants,  not 
to  encroach  upon  their  lands,  nor  disturb  them  in  the  enjoyment  of 
their  laws  and  customs,  nor  exercise  any  dominion  over  them,  ex- 
cept what  they  have  expressly  admitted  the  federal  government 
to  exercise.  jN'o  complaint  is  preferred  against  them  as  having 
violated  any  of  the  existing  compacts.  They  live  in  amity  with 
their  white  neighbors  ;  and  the  Cherokee,  Chickasaw,  and  Choc- 
taw nations  have  for  many  years  cultivated  the  most  friendly  re- 
lations with  us,  and  have  been  in  the  habit  of  treating  the  citizens 
of  the  United  States  who  pass  through  their  borders,  with  civility, 
kindness,  and  hospitality. 

When  it  is  considered  that,  (to  say  nothing  of  the  period  anterior 
to  the  revolution,)  our  diplomatic  relations  with  Indians  com- 
menced at  the  very  origin  of  our  national  existence ;  that  they 
were  formed  into  a  well-digested  system  at  the  organization  of 
our  present  form  of  government,  and  solemnly  and  deliberately 
sanctioned  by  the  venerated  founders  of  the  republic ;  that  they 


AfPENDIX. 


439 


have  been  confirmed  by  every  Senate  and  every  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives of  the   United   States ;  that  they  were    explained  by 
President    Washington,  in  his  official  letters  to  the  Indians,   as 
meaning  precisely  those  things  which  the  Cherokeesand  the  other 
south-western  tribes  now  understand  them  to  mean  ;  that  they  are 
not  capable  of  any  other  meaning ;  that  a  guaranty  of  lands  not 
ceded,  if  not  formal,  at  least  in  effect  and  substance,  was  always  a 
sine  qua  no)i  of  treaties  on  the  part  of  the  Lidians  ;  that   President 
Jefferson,  during  the  whole  course  of  his  public  life,  asserted  the 
very  principles  of  Indian  title  which  are  now  pleaded  by  the   In- 
dians ;  that  the  treaties  were  made  at  our  solicitation,  and  for  our 
benefit ;    that  the  United   States  obtained   lands   which   brought 
millions  into  the  public  treasury,  and  are  now  a  large  part  of  the 
inhabited  territory  of  flourishing  States ;  that  the  Cherokee  coun- 
try now  claimed  by  Georgia  is  of  inconsiderable  value  ;  that  there 
is  no  plea  of  necessity  in  the  case,  and  if  there  were,  it  is  a  plea 
which  should  always  be  suspected  when  assigned  as  a  reason  for 
violating  positive  compacts ;  that  the  State  of  Georgia  is  bound  in 
many  ways,  both  as  a  member  of  the  Union  and  as  a  separate 
State,  if  it  is  possible  for  a  community  to  be  bound  by  its  own  acts ; 
that  this  series  of  obligations  extends  through  nearly  half  a  cen- 
tury;  that  the  Cherokees,  especially,  have  been  urged  to  engage 
in  the  work  of  civilization  by  the  argument  that  they  were  to  re- 
main permanently  on  the  land  of  their  fathers  ;  that  this  argument 
was  not  only  pressed  upon  them  constantly  by  agents  of  the  gov- 
ernment, but  was  repeatedly  embodied  in  treaties  ;  and  that  the 
Indian  nations  committed  themselves  and  their  all  to  the  guardian- 
ship of  our  good  faith  :— When  all  these  things  are  considered, 
the  undersigned  feel  compelled  to  say,  that  any  course  of  measures, 
which,  however  plausibly  described,  is  in  effect  a  violation  of  these 
pubUc  engagements,  thus  solemnly  anddehberately  formed  and  rat- 
ified, exhibits  a  frightful  compound  of  ingratitude,  injustice,  and 
perfidy.     Nothing  hke  it  ever  before  stained  the  annals  of  this 
country.     In  some  respects,  there  is  an  aggravation  attached  to 
this  deplorable  abandonment  of  plighted  faith,  which  cannot  find 
a  parallel  in  history.     These  declarations  are  made  with  the  deep- 
est sorrow,  and  with  indescribable  mortification  and  distress.     If 
the  facts  in  the  case  could  be  concealed,  there  would  be  a  power- 
ful reason  for  silence.     But  they  cannot.     Every  volume  of  our 
statutes  proclaims  Indian  rights,  and  will  remain  a  perpetual  testi- 
mony to  our  disgrace.     In  various  ways,  our  government  has  in- 
vited the  attention  of  the  civilized  world  to  the  principles  of  jus- 
tice and  humanity  which  it  has  solemnly  professed,  and  to  which 
it  stands  pledged. 

Though  the  greatest  objection  to  the  Act  in  question  is,  in  the 
opmion  of  the  undersigned,  its  being  a  violation  of  the  public  faith  ; 
yet  there  are  other  objections  of  a  very  grave  character. 

It  would  seem  a  sufficient  reason  for  voting  in  the  negative  on 
the  passage  of  this  Act,  that  the  scheme  which  it  is  designed  to 
support  is  crude  and  undigested,  and  has  never  yet  been  subjected 
to  an  experiment  on  a  large  scale.  There  is  nothing  in  history 
that  resembles  it.     So  far  as  any  thing  hke   an  experiment  has 


440 


APPENDIX. 


been  tried,  the  result  has  been  by  no  means  favorable  to  the  suc- 
cess of  the  present  plan.  The  Seminoles  and  a  part  of  the  Dela- 
wares  migrated,  at  the  instance  of  the  general  government.  Offi- 
cial documents  published  by  the  government  show  that  these  emi- 
grants were  plunged  into  the  deepest  distress ;  that  many  of  them 
died  of  famine ;  and  their  condition  is  now  miserable  in  the  ex- 
treme, 

Again  ;  the  removal  of  75,000  souls,  (the  number  at  which  the 
south-western  tribes  are  estimated  by  the  Secretary  of  War,)  must 
be  attended  with  extreme  suffering.  No  human  care  or  caution 
can  prevent  this  suffering.  Were  it  inflicted  directly  by  Divine 
Providence,  we  should  sympathize  with  the  sufferers,  as  in  other 
cases  of  unavoidable  calamity.  But  the  suffering  in  this  case  will 
be  brought  upon  unoffending  tribes  by  human  agency, — by  the 
agency  of  this  great  republic,  acting  through  its  government  upon 
the  sufferers.  Let  it  be  considered  that  Indians  are  men ;  that 
they  have  not  only  the  rights  and  privileges  of  men,  but  the  same 
susceptibility  of  hunger,  sickness,  pain,  and  grief,  as  other  men; 
and  that,  on  some  accounts,  the  measure  now  proposed  will  be 
attended  with  more  permanent  evils  to  them  than  a  similar  course 
of  measures  would  bring  upon  an  equal  number  of  white  inhabi- 
tants, residing  in  one  of  the  cities  or  counties  of  the  United  States. 

The  expense  of  this  undertaking  will,  as  there  is  reason  to  be- 
lieve, be  enormous.  The  chairman  of  the  Indian  committee  of 
the  House  estimated  them  at  $5,000,000.  Several  members,  who 
have  given  much  attention  to  the  subject,  suppose  they  will  amount 
to  four  or  five  times  that  sum.  For  the  support  of  the  public  faith, 
such  an  expenditure  would  meet  the  approbation  of  an  intelligent 
and  moral  community  ;  but  it  should  not  be  incurred,  unless  for 
the  most  substantial  reasons. 

It  is  contended  by  the  advocates  of  removal,  that  the  country 
now  in  the  possession  of  the  Indians  is  needed  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  the  whites,  while  the  country  to  which  they  are  to  be  re- 
moved is  much  better  for  the  accommodation  of  the  Indians,  than 
the  territory  which  they  now  possess.  But  it  seems  to  the  under- 
signed, that  this  plea  of  necessity  is  not  sustained  by  facts,  if  it 
were  valid  in  its  nature.  The  United  Slates  now  possess  one  hun- 
dred million  acres  of  unsettled  land  purchased  of  Indians  ;  and  the 
present  rate  of  sales  is  but  one  million  a  year.  Besides,  if  the 
lands  to  which  the  Indians  remove  are  valuable  and  inviting,  they 
will  be  sought  by  whites ;  and  pretexts  will  not  be  wanting  for 
obtaining  them.  Indeed,  the  principles  on  which  the  present  course 
of  measures  has  been  decided,  would  authorize  the  banishment  of 
Indians  from  the  national  limits  of  the  United  States,  and  even 
from  this  continent. 

It  will  be  impossible,  if  the  Indians  are  compelled  to  remove, 
ever  to  regain  their  confidence.  They  will  regard  themselves  as 
pensioners  on  the  bounty  of  the  United  States,  and  not  as  pos- 
sessing any  rights  either  of  property,  person,  or  government.  The 
natural  tendency  of  such  a  state  of  things  is,  to  produce  in 
any  men,  most  of  all  in  Indians,  despondency,  recklessness  of 
mind,  and  utter  despair  of  the  future.     The  natural  consequence 


APPENDIX.  441 

seems  to  be,  that  all  the  improvements  now  making  in  their  con- 
dition will  receive  a  disastrous  check,  if  they  do  not  utterly  cease. 

In  conclusion,  the  undersigned  solemnly  declare  that  they  have 
endeavored  to  form  their  opinions  upon  this  subject,  with  a  sole 
reference  to  the  great  principles  of  national  morality  and  public 
duty;  and  that  they  have  not,  in  any  respect,  wished  it  to  become 
a  party  measure.  On  the  contrary,  they  have  deprecated  the  pro- 
bability that  their  opposition  to  the  measure  would  be  ascribed  to 
the  influence  of  party.  This  is  a  matter  of  far  too  serious  a  char- 
acter to  be  confounded  with  the  ordinary  political  questions  of  the 
day.  It  relates  to  great  questions  of  the  law  of  nations,  and  to 
fundamental  principles  of  right  and  wrong.  It  implicates  the  re- 
putation of  our  country  throughout  the  civilized  world;  and  will 
bear  witness  against  the  rulers  and  the  people  who  sanction  it,  so 
long  as  the  record  of  these  transactions  shall  be  preserved.  It  is 
to  be  regarded,  therefore,  as  a  great  calamity ;  much  greater  than 
words  can  adequately  express,  and  probably  much  greater  than 
can  now  be  fully  imagined. 

From  all  participation  in  bringing  this  calamity  upon  the  people 
of  the  United  States,  the  undersigned  do  publicly  and  solemnly 
exonerate  themselves ;  and,  on  the  part  of  themselves  and  their 
constituents,  they  feel  bound  to  abjure  the  principles  on  which 
the  present  course  of  measures  respecting  the  Indians  is  founded, 
and  to  pronounce  this  course  of  measures  to  be,  in  their  judgment, 
a  most  unjustifiable  series  of  acts  of  oppression  toward  the  weak 
and  defenceless,  and  a  manifest  and  very  aggravated  violation  of 
the  public  faith. 

They  cannot  but  earnestly  desire  that  these  transactions  may 
be  viewed  in  their  true  fight  by  the  government  and  people  of  the 
United  States  ;  that  the  Chief  Magistrate  may  exercise  with  ex- 
treme caution  the  vast  power  which  is  placed  in  his  hands  by  the 
Act  in  question ;  that  the  dangerous  and  mistaken  policy,  here 
briefly  described,  may  be  speedily  abandoned ;  that  our  national 
character  may  come  forth  with  pristine  brightness,  from  the  ecfipse 
by  which  it  is  obscured  ;  and  that  no  reproach  may  become  per- 
manently attached  to  our  national  character. 

Of  this  result,  however,  there  can  be  no  hope,  unless  a  change 
of  measures  be  resorted  to,  nor  unless  the  people  of  the  United 
States  demand  that  the  faith  of  the  nation  shall  be  preserved  in- 
violate and  transmitted  to  posterity  without  a  stain. 


56 


II. 


ADDRESS  TO  THE    PEOPLE   OF  THE   UNITED   STATES,    BY  THE 
GENERAL   COUNCIL   OF  THE    CHEROKEE  NATION,  JULY  1&30. 


Some  months  ago  a  delegation  was  appointed  by  the  constitut- 
ed authorities  of  the  Cherokee  nation,  to  repair  to  the  city  of 
Washington,  and,  in  behalf  of  this  nation,  to  lay  before  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  such  representations,  as  should 
seem  most  likely  to  secure  to  us,  as  a  people,  that  protection,  aid, 
and  good  neighborhood,  which  had  been  so  often  promised  to  us, 
and  of  which  we  stand  in  great  need.  Soon  after  their  arrival  in 
the  city,  they  presented  to  Congress  a  petition  from  our  National 
Council,  asking  for  the  interposition  of  that  body  in  our  behalf,, 
especially  with  reference  to  the  laws  of  Georgia,  which  were  sus- 
pended in  a  most  terrifying  manner  over  a  large  part  of  our  popu- 
lation, and  protesting,  in  the  most  decided  terms,  against  the  opera- 
tion of  these  laws.  In  the  course  of  the  winter,  they  presented 
petitions  to  Congress,  signed  by  more  than  four  thousand  of  our 
citizens,  including,  probably,  more  than  nineteen-twentieths,  and 
for  aught  we  can  tell,  ninety-nine  hundredths,  of  the  adult  males 
of  the  nation,  (our  whole  population  being  about  sixteen  thousand,); 
pleading  with  the  assembled  representatives  of  the  American  peo- 
ple, that  the  solemn  engagements  between  their  fathers  and  our 
fathers  may  be  preserved,  as  they  have  been  till  recently,  in  full 
force  and  continued  operation :  asking,  in  a  word,  for  protection 
against  threatened  usurpation,  and  for  a  faithful  execution  of  a 
guaranty,  which  is  perfectly  plain  in  its  meaning,  has  been  repeat- 
edly and  rigidly  enforced  in  our  favor,  and  has  received  the  sanc- 
tion of  the  government  of  the  United  States  for  nearly  forty  years. 

More  than  a  year  ago,  we  were  officially  given  to  understand  by 
the  Secretary  of  War,  that  the  President  could  not  protect  us 
against  the  laws  of  Georgia.  This  information  was  entirely  un- 
expected ;  as  it  went  upon  the  principle,  that  treaties  made  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  the  Cherokee  nation  have  no  power 
to  withstand  the  legislation  of  separate  States ;  and,  of  course,  that 
they  have  no  efficacy  whatever,  but  leave  our  people  to  the  mercy 
of  the  neighboring  whites,  whose  supposed  interests  would  be 
promoted  by  our  expulsion  or  extermination.  It  would  be  impos- 
sible to  describe  the  sorrow  which  affi3Cted  our  minds,  on  learning 


APPENDIX. 


443 


that  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  United  States  had  come  to  this 
conchision,  that  all  his  illustrious  predecessors  had  held  intercourse 
with  us  on  principles  which  could  not  be  sustained — promises 
made  hundreds  of  times,  in  almost  every  conceivable  manner — • 
often  in  the  forna  of  solemn  treaties,  sometimes  in  letters  written 
by  the  Chief  Magistrate  with  his  own  hand,  very  often  in  letters 
written  by  the  Secretary  of  War  under  his  direction,  sometimes 
orally  by  the  President  and  Secretary  to  our  chiefs,  and  frequent- 
ly, and  always,  both  orally  and  in  writing,  by  the  Agent  of  the 
tJnited  States  residing  among  us,  whose  most  important  business 
it  was  to  see  the  guaranty  of  the  United  States  faithfully  ex- 
ecuted. 

Soon  after  the  war  of  the  revolution,  as  we  have  learned  from 
our  fathers,  the  Cherokees  looked  upon  the  promises  of  the  whites 
with  great  distrust  and  suspicion  ;  but  the  frank  and  magnanimous 
conduct  of  General  Washington  did  much  to  allay  these  feelings. 
The  perseverance  of  successive  Presidents,  and  especially  of  Mr. 
Jefierson,  in  the  same  course  of  policy,  and  in  the  constant  assur- 
ance that  our  country  should  remain  inviolate,  except  so  far  as  we 
voluntarily  ceded  it,  nearly  banished  anxiety  in  regard  to  encroach- 
ments from  the  whites.  To  this  result,  the  aid  which  we  received 
from  the  United  States  in  the  attempts  of  our  people  to  become 
civilized,  and  the  kind  efibrts  of  benevolent  societies,  have  greatly 
contributed.  Of  late  years,  however,  much  solicitude  was  occa- 
sioned among  our  people  by  the  claims  of  Georgia.  This  sohci- 
tude  arose  from  an  apprehension,  that,  by  extreme  importunity, 
threats,  and  other  undue  influence,  a  treaty  would  be  made  which 
should  cede  the  territory,  and  thus  compel  the  inhabitants  to  re- 
move. But  it  never  occurred  to  us  for  a  moment,  that  without 
any  new  treaty,  without  any  assent  of  our  rulers  and  people,  with- 
out even  a  pretended  compact,  and  against  our  vehement  and 
unanimous  protestations,  we  should  be  delivered  over  to  the  dis- 
cretion of  those  who  had  declared  by  a  legislative  act,  that  they 
wanted  the  Cherokee  lands  and  would  have  them. 

Finding  that  relief  could  not  be  obtained  from  the  Chief  Magis- 
trate, and  not  doubting  that  our  claim  to  protection  was  just,  we 
made  our  application  to  Congress.  During  four  long  months  our 
delegation  waited  at  the  doors  of  the  National  Legislature  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  people  at  home,  in  the  most  painful  sus- 
pense, to  learn  in  what  manner  our  application  would  be  answer- 
ed; and,  now  that  Congress  has  adjourned,  on  the  very  day  be- 
fore the  date  fixed  by  Georgia  for  the  extension  of  her  oppressive 
laws  over  the  greater  part  of  our  country,  the  distressing  intelli- 
gence has  been  received,  that  we  have  received  no  answer  at  all ; 
and  no  department  of  the  government  has  assured  us  that  we  are 
to  receive  the  desired  protection.  But  just  at  the  close  of  the 
session,  an  act  was  passed,  by  which  half  a  million  of  dollars  was 
appropriated  towards  effecting  a  removal  of  Indians  ;  and  we  have 
great  reason  to  fear  that  the  influence  of  this  act  will  be  brought 
to  bear  most  injuriously  upon  us.  The  passage  of  this  act  is  cer- 
tainly understood  by  the  representatives  of  Georgia  as  abandoning 


444  APPENDIX. 

US  to  the  oppressive  and  cruel  measures  of  the  State,  and  as 
sanctioning  the  opinion  that  treaties  witli  Indians  do  not  restrain. 
State  legislation.  We  are  informed  by  those  who  are  competent 
to  judge,  that  the  recent  act  does  not  admit  of  such  construction  ; 
but  that  the  passage  of  it,  under  the  actual  circumstances  of  the 
controversy,  will  be  considered  as  sanctioning  the  pretensions  of 
Georgia,  there  is  too  much  reason  to  fear. 

Thus  have  we  realized,  with  heavy  hearts,  that  our  supplication 
has  not  been  heard  ;  that  the  protection  heretofore  experienced  is 
now  to  be  withheld  ;  that  the  guaranty,  in  consequence  of  which 
our  fathers  laid  aside  their  arms  and  ceded  the  best  portions  of 
their  country,  means  nothing  ;  and  that  we  must  either  emigrate 
to  an  unknown  region  and  leave  the  pleasant  land  to  which  we 
have  the  strongest  attachments,  or  submit  to  the  legislation  of  a 
State  which  has  already  made  our  people  outlaws,  and  enacted 
that  any  Cherokee,  who  shall  endeavor  to  prevent  the  seUing  of 
his  country,  shall  be  imprisoned  in  the  penitentiary  of  Georgia  not 
less  than  four  years.  To  our  countrymen,  this  has  been  melan- 
choly intelligence,  and  with  the  most  bitter  disappointment  has  it 
been  received. 

But  in  the  midst  of  our  sorrows,  we  do  not  forget  our  obligations  to 
our  friends  and  benefactors.  It  was  with  sensations  of  inexpressible 
joy,  that  we  have  learned,  that  the  voice  of  thousands,  in  many 
parts  of  the  United  States,  has  been  raised  in  our  behalf,  and  that 
numerous  memorials  have  been  offered  in  our  favor,  in  both  houses 
of  Congress.  To  those  numerous  friends  who  have  thus  sympa- 
thized with  us  in  our  low  estate,  we  tender  our  grateful  acknowl- 
edgments. In  pleading  our  cause,  they  have  pleaded  the  cause 
of  the  poor  and  defenceless  throughout  the  world.  Our  special 
thanks  are  due,  however,  to  those  honorable  men  who  so  ably  and 
eloquently  asserted  our  rights  in  both  branches  of  the  national 
legislature.  Their  efforts  will  be  appreciated,  wherever  the  merits 
of  this  question  shall  be  known  ;  and  we  cannot  but  think,  that 
they  have  secured  for  themselves  a  permanent  reputation  among 
the  disinterested  advocates  of  humanity,  equal  rights,  justice,  and 
good  faith.  We  even  cherish  the  hope  that  these  eflbrts,  second- 
ed and  followed  by  others  of  a  similar  character,  will  yet  be  avail- 
able so  far  as  to  mitigate  our  sufferings,  if  not  to  effect  our  entire 
deliverance. 

Before  we  close  this  address,  permit  us  to  state  what  we  con- 
ceive to  be  our  relations  with  the  United  States.  After  the  peace 
of  1783,  the  Cherokees  were  an  independent  people — absolutely 
so,  as  much  as  any  people  on  earth.  They  had  been  allies  to 
Great  Britain,  and  as  faithful  allies,  took  a  part  in  the  colonial 
war  on  her  side.  They  had  placed  themselves  under  her  protec- 
tion ;  and  had  they,  without  cause,  declared  hostility  against  their 
protector,  and  had  the  colonies  been  subdued,  what  might  not 
have  been  their  fate  ?  But  her  power  on  this  continent  was 
broken.  She  acknowledged  the  independence  of  the  United 
States  and  made  peace.  The  Cherokees,  therefore,  stood  alone, 
and  in  these  circumstances  continued  the  war.     They  were  then 


APPENDIX.  445 

under  no  obligations  to  the  United  States,  any  more  than  to  Great 
Britain,  France,  or  Spain.  The  United  States  never  subjugated 
the  Cherokees  ;  on  the  contrary,  our  fathers  remained  in  posses- 
sion of  their  country,  and  with  arms  in  their  hands. 

The  people  of  the  United  Stales  sought  a  peace;  and,  in  1785, 
the  treaty  of  Hopewell  was  formed,  by  which  the  Cherokees  came 
under  the  protection  of  the  United  States,  and  submitted  to  such 
limitations  of  sovereignty  as  are  mentioned  in  that  instrument. 
None  of  these  limitations,  however,  affected  in  the  slightest  de- 
gree, their  rights  of  self-government  and  inviolate  territory.  The 
citizens  of  the  United  States  had  no  right  of  passage  through  the 
Cherokee  country,  till  the  year  1791,  and  then  only  in  one  direc- 
tion, and  by  an  express  treaty  stipulation.  When  the  Federal 
constitution  was  adopted,  the  treaty  of  Hopewell  was  confirmed, 
with  all  other  treaties,  as  the  supreme  law  of  the  land.  In  1791, 
the  treaty  of  Holston  was  made,  by  which  the  sovereignty  of  the 
Cherokees  was  qualified  as  follows :  The  Cherokees  acknowl- 
edged themselves  to  be  luider  the  protection  of  the  United  States, 
and  of  no  other  sovereign.  They  engaged  that  they  would  not 
hold  any  treaty  with  a  foreign  power,  with  any  separate  State  of 
the  Union,  or  with  individuals.  They  agreed  that  the  United 
States  should  have  the  exclusive  right  of  regulating  their  trade ; 
that  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  should  have  a  right  of  way 
in  one  direction  through  the  Cherokee  coimtry  ;  and  that  if  an 
Indian  should  do  injury  to  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  he  should 
be  delivered  up  to  be  tried  and  punished.  A  cession  of  lands  was 
also  made  to  the  United  States.  On  the  other  hand,  the  United 
States  paid  a  sum  of  money ;  olTered  protection ;  engaged  to 
punish  citizens  of  the  United  States  who  should  do  any  injury  to 
the  Cherokees  ;  abandoned  white  settlers  on  Cherokee  lands  to 
the  discretion  of  the  Cherokees  ;  stipulated  that  white  men  should 
not  hunt  on  these  lands,  nor  even  enter  the  country  without  a 
passport ;  and  gave  a  solemn  guaranty  of  all  Cherokee  lands  not 
ceded.  This  treaty  is  the  basis  of  all  subsequent  compacts  ;  and 
in  none  of  them  are  the  relations  of  the  parties  at  all  changed. 

The  Cherokees  have  always  fulfilled  their  engagements.  They 
have  never  re-claimed  those  portions  of  sovereignty,  which  they 
surrendered  by  the  treaties  of  Hopewell  and  Holston.  These  por- 
tions were  surrendered  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  the  guaranty 
which  was  recommended  to  them  as  the  great  equivalent.  Had 
they  refused  to  comply  with  their  engagements,  there  is  no  doubt 
the  United  States  would  have  enforced  a  compliance.  Is  the 
duty  of  fulfilling  engagements  on  the  other  side  less  binding  than 
it  would  be,  if  the  Cherokees  had  the  power  of  enforcing  their 
just  claims  ? 

'I'he  people  of  the  United  States  will  have  the  fairness  to  re- 
flect, that  all  the  treaties  between  them  and  the  Cherokees  were 
made  at  the  solicitation,  and  for  the  benefit,  of  the  whites  ;  that 
valuable  considerations  were  given  for  every  stipulation,  on  the 
part  of  the  United  States ;  that  it  is  impossible  to  reinstate  the 
parties  in  their  former  situation ;  that  there  are  now  hundreds  of 


446  APPENDIX. 

thousands  of  citizens  of  Ihe  United  Slates,  residing  upon  lands 
ceded  by  the  Cherokees  in  these  very  treaties  ;  and  that  our  peo- 
ple have  trusted  their  country  to  the  guaranty  of  the  United 
States.  If  this  guaranty  fails  them,  in  what  can  they  trust  ?  and 
where  can  they  look  for  protection  ? 

We  are  aware  that  some  persons  suppose  it  will  be  for  our  ad- 
vantage to  remove  beyond  the  Mississippi.  We  think  otherwise. 
Our  people  universally  think  otherwise.  Thinking  that  it  would 
be  fatal  to  their  interests,  they  have  almost  to  a  man  sent  their 
memorial  to  Congress,  deprecating  the  necessity  of  a  removal. 
This  question  was  distinctly  before  their  minds  when  they  signed 
their  memorial.  Not  an  adult  person  can  be  found,  who  has  not 
an  opinion  on  the  subject;  and  if  the  people  were  to  understand 
distinctly,  that  they  could  be  protected  against  the  laws  of  the 
neighboring  States,  there  is  probably  not  an  adult  person  in  the 
nation,  who  would  think  it  best  to  remove  ;  though  possibly  a  few 
might  emigrate  individually.  There  are  doubtless  many  who 
would  flee  to  an  unknown  country,  however  beset  with  dangers, 
privations  and  sufferings,  rather  thaia  be  sentenced  to  spend  six 
years  in  a  Georgia  prison  for  advising  one  of  their  neighbors  not  to 
betray  his  country.  And  there  are  others  who  could  not  think  of 
living  as  outlaws  in  their  native  land,  exposed  to  numberless  vex- 
ations, and  exchided  from  being  parties  or  witnesses  in  a  court  of 
justice.  It  is  incredible  that  Georgia  should  ever  have  enacted 
the  oppressive  laws  to  which  reference  is  here  made,  unless  she 
had  supposed  that  something  extremely  terrific  in  its  character 
was  necessary,  in  order  to  make  the  Cherokees  willing  to  remove. 
We  are  not  willing  to  remove  ;  and  if  we  could  be  brought  to  this 
extremity,  it  would  be,  not  by  argument;  not  because  our  judgment 
was  satisfied ;  not  because  our  condition  will  be  improved — but 
only  because  we  cannot  endure  to  be  deprived  of  our  national  and 
individual  rights,  and  subjected  to  a  process  of  intolerable  op- 
pression. 

We  wish  to  remain  on  the  land  of  our  fathers.  We  have  a  perfect 
and  original  right  to  claim  this,  without  interruption  or  molestation. 
The  treaties  with  us,  and  laws  of  the  United  States  made  in  pur- 
suance of  treaties,  guaranty  our  residence,  and  our  privileges,  and 
secure  us  against  intruders.  Our  only  request  is,  that  these  trea- 
ties may  be  fulfilled,  and  these  laws  executed. 

But  if  we  are  compelled  to  leave  our  country,  we  see  nothing 
Tjut  ruin  before  us.  The  country  west  of  the  Arkansas  territory  is 
imknown  to  us.  From  what  we  can  learn  of  it,  we  have  no  pre- 
possessions in  its  favor.  All  the  inviting  parts  of  it,  as  we  be- 
lieve, are  pre-occupied  by  various  Indian  nations,  to  which  it  has 
Tjeen  assigned.  They  would  regard  us  as  intruders,  and  look  upon 
ns  with  an  evil  eye.  The  far  greater  part  of  that  region  is,  be- 
yond all  controversy,  badly  supplied  with  wood  and  water ;  and  no 
Indian  tribe  can  live  as  agriculturists  without  these  articles.  All 
our  neighbors,  in  case  of  our  removal,  though  crowded  into  our 
near  vicinity,  would  speak  a  language  totally  different  from  ours, 
and  practise  different  customs.     The  original  possessors  of  that 


APPENDIX, 


447 


region  are  now  wandering  savages,  lurking  for  prey  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. They  have  always  been  at  war,  and  would  be  easily 
tempted  to  turn  their  arms  against  peaceful  emigrants.  Were  the 
country  to  which  we  are  urged  much  belter  than  it  is  represented 
to  be,  and  were  it  free  from  the  objections  wbich  we  have  made 
to  it,  still  it  is  not  the  land  of  our  birth,  nor  of  our  afiectioiis.  It 
contains  neither  the  scenes  of  our  childhood,  nor  the  graves  of  our 
fathers. 

The  removal  of  families  to  a  new  country,  even  under  the  most 
favorable  auspices,  and  when  the  spirits  are  sustained  by  jileasing 
visions  of  the  future,  is  attended  with  much  depression  of  mind 
and  sinking  of  heart.  This  is  the  case,  when  the  removal  is  a 
matter  of  decided  preference,  and  when  the  persons  concerned  are 
in  early  youth  or  vigorous  manhood,  Judge,  then,  what  must  be 
the  circumstances  of  a  removal,  when  a  whole  comu:>unity,  em- 
bracing persons  of  all  classes  and  every  description,  from  the  in- 
fant to  the  man  of  extreme  old  age,  the  sick,  the  blind,  the  lame,, 
the  improvident,  the  reckless,  the  desperate,  as  well  as  the  pru- 
dent, the  considerate,  the  industrious,  are  compelled  to  remove  by 
odious  and  intolerable  vexations  and  persecutions,  brought  upon 
them  in  the  forms  of  law,  when  all  will  agree  only  in  this,  that 
they  have  been  cruelly  robbed  of  their  country,  in  violation  of  the 
most  solemn  compacts  which  it  is  possible  for  communities  to- 
form  with  each  other ;  and  that,  if  they  should  make  themselves 
comifortable  in  their  residence,  they  have  nothing  to  expect  here- 
after but  to  be  the  victims  of  a  future  legahzed  robbery  I 

Such  we  deem,  and  are  absolutely  certain,  will  be  the  feelings 
of  the  whole  Cherokee  people,  if  they  are  forcibly  compelled  by 
the  laws  of  Georgia  to  remove;  and  with  these  feelings,  how  is  it 
possible  that  we  should  pursue  our  present  course  of  improvement, 
or  avoid  sinking  into  utter  despondency  ?  We  have  been  called 
a  poor,  ignorant,  and  degraded  people.  We  certainly  are  not  rich ; 
nor  have  we  ever  boasted  of  our  knowledge,  or  our  moral  or  intel- 
lectual elevation.  But  there  is  not  a  man  within  our  limits  so 
ignorant  as  not  to  know  that  he  has  a  right  to  live  on  the  land  of 
his  fathers,  in  the  possession  of  his  immemorial  privileges,  and 
that  this  right  has  been  acknowledged  and  guarantied  by  the 
United  States  ;  nor  is  there  a  man  so  degraded  as  not  to  feel  a 
keen  sense  of  injury,  on  being  deprived  of  this  right  and  driven 
into  exile. 

It  is  under  a  sense  of  the  most  pungent  feelings  that  we  make 
this,  perhaps  our  last  appeal  to  the  good  people  of  the  United 
States.  It  cannot  be  that  the  community  we  are  addressing,  re- 
markable for  its  intelligence  and  religious  sensibilities,  and  pre- 
eminent for  its  devotion  to  the  rights  of  man,  will  lay  aside  this 
appeal,  without  considering  that  we  stand  in  need  of  its  sympathy 
and  commiseration.  We  know  that  to  the  Christian  and  the  phi- 
lanthropist, the  voice  of  our  multiplied  sorrows  and  fiery  trials  will 
not  appear  as  an  idle  tale.  In  our  o\vn  land,  on  our  own  soil,  and 
in  our  own  dwellings,  which  we  reared  for  our  wives  and  for  our 
little  ones,  when  there  was  peace  on  our  mountains  and  in  our 


448 


APPENDIX. 


valleys,  we  are  encountering  troubles  which  cannot  but  try  our 
very  souls.  But  shall  we,  on  account  of  these  troubles,  forsake 
our  beloved  country  ?  Shall  we  be  compelled  by  a  civihzed  and 
Christian  people,  with  whom  we  have  lived  in  perfect  peace  for 
the  last  forty  years,  and  for  whom  we  have  willingly  bled  in  war, 
to  bid  a  final  adieu  to  our  homes,  our  farms,  our  streams,  and  our 
beautiful  forests?  No.  We  are  still  firm.  We  intend  still  to 
cling,  with  our  wonted  affection,  to  the  land  which  gave  us  birth, 
and  which,  every  day  of  our  lives,  brings  to  us  new  and  stronger 
ties  of  attachment.  We  appeal  to  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth,  who 
will  finally  award  us  justice,  and  to  the  good  sense  of  the  Ameri- 
can people,  whether  we  are  intruders  upon  the  land  of  others. 
Our  consciences  bear  us  witness  that  we  are  the  invaders  of  no 
man's  rights — we  have  robbed  no  man  of  his  territory — we  have 
usurped  no  man's  authority,  nor  have  we  deprived  any  one  of  his 
unalienable  privileges.  How  then  shall  we  mdirectly  confess  the 
right  of  another  people  to  our  land  by  leaving  it  forever  ?  On  the 
soil  which  contains  the  ashes  of  our  beloved  men,  we  wish  to  live, 
on  this  soil  we  wish  to  die. 

We  entreat  those  to  whom  the  foregoing  paragraphs  are  ad- 
dressed, to  remember  the  great  law  of  love,  "  Do  to  others  as  ye 
would  that  others  should  do  to  you."  Let  them  remember  that  of 
all  nations  on  the  earth,  they  are  under  the  greatest  obligation  to 
obey  this  law.  We  pray  them  to  remember  that,  for  the  sake  of 
principle,  their  forefathers  were  compelled  to  leave,  therefore  driven 
from  the  old  world,  and  that  the  winds  of  persecution  wafted  them 
over  the  great  waters,  and  landed  them  on  the  shores  of  the  new 
world,  when  the  Indian  was  the  sole  lord  and  proprietor  of  these 
extensive  domains.  Let  them  remember  in  what  way  they  were 
received  by  the  savage  of  America,  when  power  was  in  his  hand, 
and  his  ferocity  could  not  be  restrained  by  any  human  arm.  We 
urge  them  to  bear  in  mind,  that  those  who  would  now  ask  of  them 
a  cup  of  cold  water,  and  a  spot  of  earth,  a  portion  of  their  own  patri- 
monial possessions,  on  which  to  live  and  die  in  peace,  are  the  de- 
scendants of  those  whose  origin,  as  inhabitants  of  North  America, 
history  and  tradition  are  ahke  insufficient  to  reveal.  Let  them 
bring  to  remembrance  all  these  facts,  and  they  cannot,  and  we  are 
sure,  they  ivill  not  fail  to  remember,  and  sympathize  with  us  in 
these  our  trials  and  sufferings. 


1    1012  01043  6329 


